Critical GitLab flaw lets hackers delete or rewrite repositories – patch now
GitLab warns the 9.4-rated code injection vulnerability requires no user interaction to exploit.
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- Attackers can exploit the critical GraphQL flaw to modify or delete public projects and user data.
- The 9.4-rated vulnerability requires no user interaction, putting exposed GitLab Self-Managed instances at risk.
- GitLab is urging self-managed users to upgrade immediately, with no workaround available for the critical flaw.
- A patch was released for a second GitLab flaw exploiting GraphQL, carrying a severity score of 7.1.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
GitLab is urging users to immediately patch a newly discovered critical flaw that can allow unauthenticated attackers to remotely modify and delete repositories and user data.
What’s more, the 9.4-rated vulnerability (CVE-2026-19478) can be exploited on self-hosted GitLab systems without any interaction – and all through just one specially crafted GraphQL request.
GraphQL is one of the API query languages that GitLab uses. A GraphQL query essentially instructs the GitLab server how to carry out the task it is given.
Critical GitLab flaw needs no user interaction
Although no public exploit currently exists in the wild, watchTowr researchers say they reproduced the code injection exploit within minutes – and “armed only with the advisory details and patch.”
And watchTowr Principal Security Researcher Jake Knott tells Cybernews that “AI-enabled attackers are unlikely to be far behind.”
“It's only Tuesday, and we're already dealing with a critical out-of-band security patch for GitLab instances, and yet again another reminder that supply chain attacks can take many shapes and sizes,Knott says.
The researchers are now warning defenders to "upgrade self-managed instances now, or restrict access to ‘/api/graphql’ where possible.”
GitLab Self-Managed users urged to update
Knott further points out that, besides deleting publicly accessible GitLab projects and rewriting their state, attackers could also “delete entire repositories, forge merge records, or ban maintainers in a single HTTP request with no credentials, user interaction, or obscure configuration required.”
GitLab, which disclosed the flaw and its fix on Monday, says affected GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE) versions include:
- 18.2 through 18.11.10
- 19.0 through 19.0.7
- 19.1 through 19.1.5
- 19.2 through 19.2.3
“These versions contain important bug and security fixes, and we strongly recommend that all self-managed GitLab installations be upgraded to one of these versions immediately,”the developer collaboration platform said.
Notably, GitLab.com and GitLab Dedicated are already running the patched version, meaning customers of those platforms do not need to take action.
GitLab awards researcher $26K bug bounty
In its announcement, GitLab also gave a shout-out to the researcher who discovered and reported the vulnerability on August 14th.
“Thanks hiimguardian for reporting this vulnerability through our HackerOne bug bounty program,” GitLab wrote.
According to Toronto-based researcher Connor Laidlaw’s HackerOne profile, this appears to be his first bug bounty documented through the program, netting the hunter a cool $26,010.
GitLab patches second GraphQL flaw
Along with the code injection flaw, GitLab also released a patch for a second GraphQL vulnerability (CVE-2026-19650).
With a CVSS high severity score of 7.1, GitLab says the flaw could allow an unauthenticated attacker to perform cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks.
Unlike the critical 9.4 flaw, exploitation requires user interaction.
Two researchers (kreep and diablosec) collaborated on finding the second bug, earning a much lower $5,530 bounty, as their profiles show.
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