CVE-2022-3018 is an information disclosure vulnerability affecting GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE) across multiple versions starting from 9.3 up to versions prior to 15.2.5, 15.3.4, and 15.4.1 respectively. The vulnerability allows a project maintainer—who already has elevated privileges within a GitLab project—to access sensitive DataDog integration API keys that are exposed in webhook logs. This occurs because the webhook logs improperly store or display these API keys, which should be treated as confidential credentials. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-532, which relates to exposure of information through logs. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.8, indicating a medium severity level. The vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N indicates that the attack can be performed remotely over the network with low attack complexity, requires high privileges (project maintainer), no user interaction, and impacts confidentiality with a high impact, but no impact on integrity or availability. The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. No known exploits are reported in the wild. The vulnerability was published on October 28, 2022, and affects a widely used DevOps platform that integrates source code management, CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring integrations such as DataDog. The exposure of DataDog API keys can lead to unauthorized access to monitoring data, potential manipulation of monitoring configurations, or further lateral movement within an organization's infrastructure if the keys are abused. Since the vulnerability requires project maintainer privileges, the threat is limited to insiders or compromised accounts with such access. However, given the widespread use of GitLab in software development pipelines, the risk is non-trivial.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of monitoring credentials and potentially sensitive operational data. Many European enterprises and public sector organizations rely on GitLab for source code management and CI/CD, often integrating monitoring tools like DataDog to maintain service reliability and security. Exposure of DataDog API keys could allow attackers or malicious insiders to access performance metrics, logs, and alerts, potentially revealing sensitive operational details or enabling further attacks such as disabling alerts or injecting misleading monitoring data. This could impact incident response and system reliability. Additionally, unauthorized access to monitoring tools can be leveraged to map network topology or identify other vulnerabilities. The requirement for project maintainer privileges somewhat limits the attack surface, but insider threats or compromised maintainer accounts remain a concern. The vulnerability may also affect compliance with European data protection regulations if sensitive operational data is exposed or misused. Organizations with strict security and compliance requirements must consider this vulnerability a moderate risk that requires timely remediation.

European organizations should take the following specific steps to mitigate this vulnerability: 1) Upgrade GitLab instances to the fixed versions: 15.2.5 or later for versions prior to 15.3, 15.3.4 or later for 15.3 versions, and 15.4.1 or later for 15.4 versions. 2) Audit project maintainer accounts to ensure only trusted personnel have such privileges and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce risk of account compromise. 3) Review webhook logs and remove any exposed DataDog API keys; rotate these API keys immediately to invalidate any potentially leaked credentials. 4) Implement strict access controls and monitoring on DataDog accounts to detect unusual activity that may indicate misuse of exposed keys. 5) Limit the scope of DataDog API keys to the minimum necessary permissions to reduce impact if compromised. 6) Educate developers and DevOps teams about the risks of storing sensitive credentials in logs and enforce secure handling of secrets using GitLab’s secret management features or dedicated vault solutions. 7) Monitor GitLab and DataDog integration logs for suspicious access patterns. These steps go beyond generic patching by emphasizing credential hygiene, access control, and proactive monitoring tailored to the nature of this vulnerability.