Vulnerability report

Active exploitation observed Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2026-85706

GitLab Path Traversal

GitLab · affected before 18.11.12

Watch CVE-2026-85706 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 10.0 · Critical
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Observed in sensors
EPSS
93.0%
First observed
12 Sep 2026
Last observed
09 Oct 2026

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2026-85706 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting GitLab. GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 18.7 before 18.11.12, 19.0 before 19.0.9, 19.1 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian sensors observed exploitation attempts with confirmed confidence. Listed in CISA KEV. Also confirmed by third-party sources.

Who is affected?

GitLab affected before 18.11.12.

What should we do?

Patch immediately, validate internet-facing exposure, and monitor for matching requests.

Overview

GitLab Path Traversal

GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 18.7 before 18.11.12, 19.0 before 19.0.9, 19.1 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2 that, under certain conditions, an unauthenticated user could have read arbitrary files from the GitLab server due to improper path confinement and missing authentication enforcement in the repository commits API.

GitLab Affected
GitLab
Before 18.11.12 Before 19.0.9 Before 19.1.8 Before 19.2.6 Before 19.3.2
Published
12 Sep 2026
Exploitation Reported
11 Sep 2026
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

cisa nuclei_scanner

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 11 Sep 2026

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Active exploitation observed

Previdian sensor

First observed 12 Sep 2026

Previdian first observed exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability in our honeypot sensors.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 11 Sep 2026

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

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Source Added
CISA First 2026-09-11 20:01 UTC
CVE 2026-09-12 04:01 UTC
Previdian Sensors 2026-09-12 21:55 UTC
Rapid7 2026-09-14 10:02 UTC
TheRegister 2026-09-14 14:30 UTC
The Shadowserver 2026-10-08 00:00 UTC

Operational indicators for this CVE are listed under Detection.

Sensor telemetry

First-party evidence of exploitation activity

Previdian sensors recorded exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability. The cards and chart show volume, unique attackers, and daily activity.

923

Attempts observed

19

Unique attacker IPs

15

Attacker countries

DE · ES · FR · GB · JP · LV · MY · NL · PT · SC · SG · TN · UA · US · ZA

1

Sensors observed

CVE-2026-85706 exploitation attempts over the last 30 days

Daily events observed by Previdian sensors

Updated 10 Oct 2026

0
208
135
58
0
226
6
0
0
0
83
1
35
35
0
0
0
54
19
0
0
0
0
30
30
0
0
1
2
0
11 Sep 17 Sep 23 Sep 29 Sep 10 Oct

First observed 12 Sep 2026 · Last observed 09 Oct 2026

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Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
386
26
0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Attacker IP Indicators

Attacker IP indicators observed · available in Pro and Enterprise.

Sensor-derived attacker IP indicators are available to Pro and Enterprise accounts under Detection and through the Pro API.

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Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-85706.yaml 14 Sep 2026

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

10.0 Critical

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS

93.0%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') CWE-22

Recent mention · Rapid7

Metasploit Wrap Up: Belgian Waffles, Chocolates, and…Modules-Frites?

Read full advisory

All Mentions

Recent mention · Rapid7

Metasploit Wrap Up: Belgian Waffles, Chocolates, and…Modules-Frites?

Rapid7 · 25 Sep 2026

Recent mention · FortiGuard Center - Outbreak Alerts

Gitlab Path Traversal vulnerability

FortiGuard Center - Outbreak Alerts · 22 Sep 2026

FortiGuard Labs has observed attack activity targeting CVE-2026-85706, a critical path traversal vulnerability in GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. The vulnerability affects the repository commits API and can allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to read arbitrary files from a vulnerable GitLab server due to improper path confinement and missing authentication enforcement. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 10.0 and requires no privileges or user interaction. CVE-2026-85706 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on September 11, 2026....

Recent mention · Security Affairs

Security Affairs newsletter Round 595 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

Security Affairs · 20 Sep 2026

A new round of the weekly Security Affairs newsletter has arrived! Every week, the best security articles from Security Affairs are free in your email box. Enjoy a new round of the weekly SecurityAffairs newsletter, including international press. Google Gemini also Broke Out of Its Test Environment AI Helps Hackers Hijack OpenAI Staff Accounts Through […]

Recent mention · Dark Reading

Maximum Severity GitLab Flaw Puts Supply Chains at Risk

Dark Reading · 14 Sep 2026

CVE-2026-85706 is a path traversal vulnerability with a 10 out of 10 CVSS score, affecting both GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition instances.

Recent mention · TheRegister

Perfect-10 GitLab bug under attack days after patch lands

TheRegister · 14 Sep 2026

CISA confirms active exploitation as watchTowr spots miscreants probing internet-facing servers

Recent mention · Rapid7

CVE-2026-85706: Critical GitLab Path Traversal Exploited in the Wild

Rapid7 · 14 Sep 2026

OverviewOn September 10, 2026, GitLab published a critical patch release for GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE). The release addresses CVE-2026-85706, a critical path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the repository commits API with a CVSSv3.1 score of 10.0. According to GitLab, improper path confinement and missing authentication enforcement could allow an unauthenticated user to read arbitrary files from an affected GitLab server under certain conditions.On September 11, 2026, CVE-2026-85706 was added to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's...

Recent mention · SOCRadar

GitLab CVE-2026-85706 Added to CISA KEV

SOCRadar · 14 Sep 2026

GitLab CVE-2026-85706 Added to CISA KEV CVE-2026-85706 represents a severe path traversal flaw in GitLab CE and EE, permitting unauthenticated remote actors to retrieve arbitrary files from affected self-managed deployme

Recent mention · NCSC Security Advisories

NCSC-2026-0367 [1.00] [H/H] Kwetsbaarheid verholpen in GitLab Community en Enterprise Editions

NCSC Security Advisories · 12 Sep 2026

GitLab heeft een kwetsbaarheid verholpen in GitLab Community en Enterprise Editions. De kwetsbaarheid bevindt zich in de repository commits API, waarbij een path traversal mogelijk is. Hierdoor kunnen niet-geauthenticeerde gebruikers willekeurige bestanden op het systeem lezen. De oorzaak ligt in onjuiste path confinement gecombineerd met ontbrekende authenticatiecontroles in de API-endpoint. CISA heeft CVE-2026-85706 opgenomen in de Known Exploited Vulnerabilities-catalogus en er is publieke exploitcode beschikbaar. Vooral internetbereikbare, zelfbeheerde GitLab-installaties lopen risico,...

Recent mention · The Hacker News

GitLab CVSS 10 File-Read Flaw Draws In-the-Wild Probes After Disclosure

The Hacker News · 11 Sep 2026

GitLab has released patches to address multiple flaws, including a maximum-severity security vulnerability that has witnessed in-the-wild probes within hours of public disclosure. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2026-85706 (CVSS score: 10.0), a path traversal issue in the repository commits API that could allow an unauthenticated user to read arbitrary files from the GitLab server under

Recent mention · BleepingComputer

GitLab urges users to patch max severity path traversal flaw

BleepingComputer · 11 Sep 2026

GitLab urged users on Thursday to patch their servers immediately against a maximum-severity path traversal vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-85706. [...]

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

EQSTLab/CVE-2026-85706

github · Created 2026-09-28 04:47:10 UTC · 1 stars · AI assessment 90%

GitLab Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read

tc4dy/CVE-2026-85706-PoC-Toolkit

github · Created 2026-09-17 18:06:48 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

🪬 CVE-2026-85706 – GitLab Unauth File Read Toolkit (CVSS 10.0) | Red/Blue Team suite for self-managed GitLab CE/EE 18.7–19.3.1. 2 tools: Full Exploit (unauth file read, admin token, mass scan, loot, shell, stealth, SQLite/HTML/JSON output) etc., SafeChecker (version detect, audit, security headers, TLS check, MITRE). Only Use Ethically, Educ. <3

CVE-2026-85706 Exploit: GitLab Arbitrary File Read

1dayexploit · Created 2026-09-15 16:35:00 UTC

Unauthenticated arbitrary file read in GitLab CE/EE (CVE-2026-85706) via Workhorse-Grape parser differential and missing auth check. Affects 18.7-19.3. CVSS 10.0.

gabrielunknown/CVE-2026-85706

github · Created 2026-09-14 04:05:39 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

CVE-2026-85706 — GitLab Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read exploit PoC.

brigadeops32/CVE-2026-85706

github · Created 2026-09-13 16:58:00 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

gagaltotal/CVE-2026-85706-gitlab-poc

github · Created 2026-09-13 14:28:53 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

CVE-2026-85706

GitLab CE/EE unauthenticated path traversal in Repository Commits API leads to arbitrary file read

pruva · Created 2026-09-12 11:32:07 UTC

Severity: CRITICAL | CVE: CVE-2026-85706 | Package: gitlab

mhtsec/CVE-2026-85706

github · Created 2026-09-11 16:18:11 UTC · 1 stars · AI assessment 85%

GitLab CE/EE unauthenticated path traversal (CVE-2026-85706) - PoC

solivaquaant/CVE-2026-85706-PoC

github · Created 2026-09-11 15:58:53 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

PoC for CVE-2026-85706: GitLab CE/EE unauthenticated arbitrary local file read

solivaquaant/CVE-2026-85706

github · Created 2026-09-11 15:58:53 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 90%

PoC for CVE-2026-85706: GitLab CE/EE unauthenticated arbitrary local file read

FlowerWitch/CVE-2026-85706_docker_exp

github · Created 2026-09-11 11:55:07 UTC · 0 stars · AI assessment 85%

CVE-2026-85706_docker_exp

GitLab CE/EE <=19.1.7/19.2.5/19.3.1 - Arbitrary File Read

nuclei · Created Unknown

HackerOne Bug Bounty Report #3909881

cve · Created Unknown

1 private PoC available

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Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. 00:00 UTC

    KEV confirmed by The Shadowserver

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  2. 14:30 UTC

    KEV confirmed by TheRegister

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  3. 10:02 UTC

    KEV confirmed by Rapid7

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  4. 04:30 UTC

    Nuclei template available

    Scanner coverage available

  5. 21:52 UTC

    Indicators of compromise added (18)

    Indicators of compromise recorded

  6. 21:52 UTC

    Observed by Previdian sensors

    Evidence-backed exploitation signal

  7. 04:01 UTC

    KEV confirmed by CVE

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  8. 02:46 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  9. 20:01 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  10. 13:48 UTC

    Added to the Previdian watchlist

    Pro and Enterprise Watch users had 6 hours of early warning before CISA KEV. Also 1 day before Previdian confirmed it as a KEV.

  11. 12:52 UTC

    Private PoC available

    Pro-only proof-of-concept available

  12. 11:55 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  13. 14:34 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

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Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
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  • Affected versions and enrichment
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GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2026-85706

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2026-85706",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 10.0,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.92956,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": true
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 923, "sensors": 1 }
}