---
id: CVE-2023-4379
title: Incorrect Authorization in GitLab
summary: >-
  An issue has been discovered in GitLab EE affecting all versions starting from
  15.3 prior to 16.2.8, 16.3 prior to 16.3.5, and 16.4 prior to 16.4.1. Code
  owner approval was not removed from merge requests when the target branch was
  updated.
severity: high
cvss: 8.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-863
vendor: GitLab
product: GitLab
affected:
  - GitLab >= 15.3 < 16.2.8
  - GitLab >= 16.3 < 16.3.5
  - GitLab >= 16.4 < 16.4.1
ssvc:
  exploitation: poc
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2024-08-30T15:30:35.330645Z'
exploitAvailable: true
published: '2023-11-09'
updated: '2026-10-10'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-10T04:16:04.255Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4379'
references:
  - url: 'https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/415496'
    label: 'GitLab Issue #415496'
tags:
  - cve.org
  - exploit-available
epss: 0.006
epssPercentile: 0.47467
ingestedAt: '2026-10-15T01:08:04.246Z'
---

## Overview

An issue has been discovered in GitLab EE affecting all versions starting from 15.3 prior to 16.2.8, 16.3 prior to 16.3.5, and 16.4 prior to 16.4.1. Code owner approval was not removed from merge requests when the target branch was updated.

## Affected

- `GitLab >= 15.3 < 16.2.8`
- `GitLab >= 16.3 < 16.3.5`
- `GitLab >= 16.4 < 16.4.1`

## Remediation

Upgrade to version 16.2.8, 16.3.5, 16.4.1 or above