CVE-2022-3325 is a vulnerability in GitLab CE/EE API versions starting from 12.8 up to but not including 15.2.5, versions from 15.3 up to but not including 15.3.4, and versions from 15.4 up to but not including 15.4.1. The flaw is categorized as improper access control (CWE-284) that allows unauthorized users to edit approval rules via the API. Approval rules in GitLab are critical for enforcing code review policies and controlling merge request workflows. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker with some level of privileges (as indicated by the CVSS vector requiring high privileges) but without proper authorization could modify these rules, potentially weakening the approval process. This could lead to unauthorized code changes being merged without adequate review, increasing the risk of introducing malicious code or vulnerabilities into the codebase. The CVSS score is 2.7 (low severity), reflecting limited impact on confidentiality and availability, with integrity impact limited to the approval rules. Exploitation does not require user interaction but does require high privileges, which limits the attack surface. No known exploits in the wild have been reported. The vulnerability was published on October 17, 2022, and patches are available in versions 15.2.5, 15.3.4, and 15.4.1 and later. Organizations using affected GitLab versions should prioritize updating to patched releases to prevent unauthorized modification of approval rules and maintain the integrity of their development workflows.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability primarily concerns the integrity of software development processes. Organizations relying on GitLab for source code management and CI/CD pipelines could face risks of unauthorized changes to approval workflows, potentially allowing malicious or unreviewed code to be merged. This could lead to downstream security issues in production environments, intellectual property theft, or compliance violations, especially in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. However, the requirement for high privileges to exploit this vulnerability reduces the likelihood of external attackers leveraging it directly. Insider threats or compromised accounts with elevated privileges pose a greater risk. The low CVSS score indicates limited direct impact on confidentiality or availability, but the indirect consequences on software integrity and trustworthiness could be significant if exploited. European organizations with strict software supply chain security requirements should consider this vulnerability a risk to their development governance and code integrity.

1. Immediate upgrade of GitLab instances to the patched versions: 15.2.5, 15.3.4, or 15.4.1 and above. 2. Review and tighten access controls and permissions within GitLab to ensure that only necessary users have high privileges capable of modifying approval rules. 3. Implement monitoring and alerting on changes to approval rules and other critical configuration settings within GitLab to detect unauthorized modifications promptly. 4. Conduct regular audits of user privileges and API access tokens to identify and revoke unnecessary or stale credentials. 5. Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users with elevated privileges to reduce the risk of account compromise. 6. Integrate GitLab activity logs with centralized security information and event management (SIEM) systems for enhanced visibility and incident response capabilities. 7. Educate development and DevOps teams about the importance of approval rules and the risks associated with their unauthorized modification. These targeted measures go beyond generic patching advice by focusing on access control hygiene, monitoring, and organizational awareness.