# CVE-2023-7028: GitLab - Authentication Bypass

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2023-7028 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2023-7028

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 10.0
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** GitLab
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-640 (Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password)
- **Tags:** scm

## Description

An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 16.1 prior to 16.1.6, 16.2 prior to 16.2.9, 16.3 prior to 16.3.7, 16.4 prior to 16.4.5, 16.5 prior to 16.5.6, 16.6 prior to 16.6.4, and 16.7 prior to 16.7.2 in which user account password reset emails could be delivered to an unverified email address.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2023-7028](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2023-7028) is a critical vulnerability in GitLab that allows password reset emails to be sent to unverified email addresses, potentially enabling account takeover by unauthorized attackers.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 17th of January 2024.

CrowdSec has not observed any significant exploitation activity targeting CVE-2023-7028 across its network. As a result, no community-driven trend analysis is available for this vulnerability at this time.

Exploitation attempts typically involve requests related to the password reset functionality of GitLab instances.

## Timeline

- 2024-01-12: CVE Published. CVE-2023-7028 is published to NVD.
- 2024-01-17: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2023-7028 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2024-05-01: CISA KEV. CVE-2023-7028 is added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog by CISA.
- 2024-05-22: CISA Remediation Deadline. Expiration of the CISA remediation deadline as described in [BOD 22-01](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities).
- 2024-12-02: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2023-7028 for the first time.

## References

- https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/436084
- https://hackerone.com/reports/2293343
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-7028.yaml
- https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/critical-gitlab-account-takeover-vulnerability-cve-2023-7028

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2023-7028) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2023-7028. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.