CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog
CISA added CVE-2026-85706, an actively exploited GitLab path traversal flaw, to its KEV Catalog, requiring federal agencies to prioritize patching.
CISA added one vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog based on evidence of active exploitation: CVE-2026-85706, a path traversal vulnerability in GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. Under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies must prioritize rapid remediation of KEV-listed vulnerabilities on publicly exposed assets, including checking whether systems were compromised before the patch was applied. While BOD 26-04 binds only FCEB agencies, CISA encourages all organizations to adopt risk-based vulnerability management and prioritize KEV remediations.
- CVE-2026-85706 is a path traversal flaw in GitLab CE and EE with evidence of active exploitation
- BOD 26-04 requires FCEB agencies to rapidly patch KEV vulnerabilities on exposed assets
- Agencies must verify whether threat actors compromised systems before patching
- CISA encourages all organizations to prioritize KEV remediations via risk-based vulnerability management
- KEV nominations require a CVE ID, exploitation evidence, and clear mitigation guidance
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-85706 | Unauthenticated Path Traversal Arbitrary File Read in GitLab CE/EE CVE-2026-85706 is a path traversal flaw (CWE-35) in GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition in which the repository commits API does not properly confine file paths and does not enforce authentication, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to read arbitrary files from the GitLab server. It is triggered by sending a crafted unauthenticated request to the commits API that supplies traversal sequences moving outside the intended repository path. An attacker gains the ability to read arbitrary files on the host, which can expose configuration files, certificates, and stored credentials or keys; related reporting on the recent GitLab patch wave also notes credential theft and code execution flaws, though this CVE itself is the file-read issue. All self-managed GitLab CE and EE deployments are in scope, and CISA did not publish specific affected version ranges in this data. The flaw was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2026-09-11 and is being actively probed and exploited in the wild within a day of disclosure, with three public proof-of-concept repositories available; ransomware use is not yet confirmed. Do: Upgrade GitLab CE/EE to the patched release identified in GitLab's security advisory (no specific fixed version number is provided in this data), prioritizing internet-facing instances in line with CISA BOD 26-04; if patching is not immediately possible, restrict exposure and review access logs for unauthenticated requests to the commits API containing path traversal sequences. Because arbitrary file read can expose server-side secrets, inventory and rotate credentials, tokens, and keys stored on or reachable by affected GitLab hosts. | 10.0 | 12% | KEV PoC ×9 |
| massLikely >1,000,000 aggregate users across hundreds of thousands of self-managed CE/EE deployments, with tens of thousands of instances directly exposed to the… |
Full article225 words · extracted from cisa.gov · click to collapse
CISA has added one new vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.
- CVE-2026-85706 GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition Path Traversal Vulnerability
This type of vulnerability is a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and poses significant risks to the federal enterprise.
Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04: Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk establishes vulnerability management requirements for Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies. BOD 26-04 reinforces the importance of the KEV Catalog and requires federal agencies to prioritize rapid remediation of high-risk vulnerabilities, specifically those identified by Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) listed in CISA’s KEV Catalog on publicly exposed assets that grant total control of the asset post-exploitation, while deferring action for lower-risk vulnerabilities. BOD 26-04 further establishes basic expectations for when agencies must check whether threat actors compromised the system before the patch was applied.
While BOD 26-04 applies only to FCEB agencies, CISA encourages all organizations to adopt risk-based vulnerability management and prioritize remediation of KEV Catalog vulnerabilities. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria.
Aware of an exploited vulnerability not currently listed in the KEV Catalog? Submit it for potential addition through CISA’s KEV Nomination Form. Potential KEV additions must have a CVE ID, evidence of exploitation, and clear mitigation guidance.
Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2026/09/11/cisa-adds-one-known-exploited-vulnerability-catalog