CVE-2021-39942
GitLab vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

A denial of service vulnerability was discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions starting from 12.0 before 14.3.6, all versions starting from 14.4 before 14.4.4, and all versions starting from 14.5 before 14.5.2. The vulnerability was assigned CVE-2021-39942 and allows low-privileged users to bypass file size limits in the NPM package repository (GitLab Security Release, CERT-EU Advisory).

Technical details

The vulnerability exists in the NPM package repository functionality where the file size validation incorrectly relies on user-provided parameters rather than actual file sizes. The issue has been rated as medium severity with a CVSS score of 4.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L) (GitLab Security Release).

Impact

The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass specified file size limits when creating NPM packages, potentially leading to disk space exhaustion and denial of service. Given the lack of storage limits for the package registry, this could result in system resource depletion (GitLab Security Release).

Mitigation and workarounds

GitLab has addressed this vulnerability in versions 14.3.6, 14.4.4, and 14.5.2. Users are strongly recommended to upgrade to these or later versions to mitigate the risk. The fix ensures proper validation of actual file sizes rather than relying on user-provided parameters (GitLab Security Release).

Additional resources


SourceThis report was generated using AI

Related GitLab vulnerabilities:

CVE ID

Severity

Score

Technologies

Component name

CISA KEV exploit

Has fix

Published date

CVE-2025-9222HIGH8.7
  • GitLabGitLab
  • cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab
NoYesJan 09, 2026
CVE-2025-11224HIGH7.7
  • GitLabGitLab
  • cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab
NoYesJan 14, 2026
CVE-2026-0723HIGH7.4
  • GitLabGitLab
  • cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab
NoYesJan 20, 2026
CVE-2025-13781MEDIUM6.5
  • GitLabGitLab
  • cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab
NoYesJan 09, 2026
CVE-2025-3950LOW3.5
  • GitLabGitLab
  • cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab
NoYesJan 09, 2026

Free Vulnerability Assessment

Benchmark your Cloud Security Posture

Evaluate your cloud security practices across 9 security domains to benchmark your risk level and identify gaps in your defenses.

Request assessment

Get a personalized demo

Ready to see Wiz in action?

"Best User Experience I have ever seen, provides full visibility to cloud workloads."
David EstlickCISO
"Wiz provides a single pane of glass to see what is going on in our cloud environments."
Adam FletcherChief Security Officer
"We know that if Wiz identifies something as critical, it actually is."
Greg PoniatowskiHead of Threat and Vulnerability Management