How severe is CVE-2016-9086?

CVE-2016-9086 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability none.

Is CVE-2016-9086 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 5% (92nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-9086?

CVE-2016-9086 primarily affects Gitlab. In total, 46 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-9086?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2016-9086 published?

CVE-2016-9086 was published on 2016-11-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-9086

CVE-2016-9086 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gitlab with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-200.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.5)
CVSS v2: 4.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 5% (92nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-200
Affected product: Gitlab
Published: 2016-11-03
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

GitLab versions 8.9.x and above contain a critical security flaw in the "import/export project" feature of GitLab. Added in GitLab 8.9, this feature allows a user to export and then re-import their projects as tape archive files (tar). All GitLab versions prior to 8.13.0 restricted this feature to administrators only. Starting with version 8.13.0 this feature was made available to all users. This feature did not properly check for symbolic links in user-provided archives and therefore it was possible for an authenticated user to retrieve the contents of any file accessible to the GitLab service account. This included sensitive files such as those that contain secret tokens used by the GitLab service to authenticate users. GitLab CE and EE versions 8.13.0 through 8.13.2, 8.12.0 through 8.12.7, 8.11.0 through 8.11.10, 8.10.0 through 8.10.12, and 8.9.0 through 8.9.11 are affected.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-9086?: GitLab versions 8.9.x and above contain a critical security flaw in the "import/export project" feature of GitLab. Added in GitLab 8.9, this feature allows a user to export and then re-import their projects as tape archive files (tar). All GitLab versions prior to 8.13.0 restricted this feature to administrators only. Starting with version 8.13.0 this feature was made available to all users. This feature did not properly check for symbolic links in user-provided archives and therefore it was possible for an authenticated user to retrieve the contents of any file accessible to the GitLab service account. This included sensitive files such as those that contain secret tokens used by the GitLab service to authenticate users. GitLab CE and EE versions 8.13.0 through 8.13.2, 8.12.0 through 8.12.7, 8.11.0 through 8.11.10, 8.10.0 through 8.10.12, and 8.9.0 through 8.9.11 are affected.
How severe is CVE-2016-9086?: CVE-2016-9086 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability none.
Is CVE-2016-9086 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 5% (92nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-9086?: CVE-2016-9086 primarily affects Gitlab. In total, 46 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-9086?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2016-9086 published?: CVE-2016-9086 was published on 2016-11-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (46)

cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.9.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.10.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.11.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.12.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gitlab:gitlab:8.12.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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