Ensure branch protection rules are enforced for administrators

HighLevel 1Automatedgitlab

Description

Ensure administrators are subject to branch protection rules. Administrators by default are excluded from any branch protection rules. This means these privileged users (both on the repository and organization levels) are not subject to protections meant to prevent untrusted code insertion, including malicious code. This is extremely important since administrator accounts are often targeted for account hijacking due to their privileged role.

How it is checked

Audit method: Shell command

shell

command -v glab >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 1
glab auth status >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 1
proj=$(glab repo view -F json 2>/dev/null) || exit 1
printf "%s" "$proj" | grep -q '"id":' && echo compliant || echo non-compliant

Expected output: compliant

How it is fixed

Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch

GitLab administrators can disable this privilege for group owners, enforcing the instance-level protection rule: 1. On the left sidebar, at the bottom, select Admin Area. 2. Select Settings > Repository. 3. Expand the Default branch section. 4. Uncheck Allow owners to manage default branch protection per group checkbox. 5. Select Save changes.

Properties

Operating systems: Any
Tags: branch-protectiondevsecopsgitlab
Reference: CIS GitLab Benchmark v1.0.1 - 1.1.14 Ensure branch protection rules are enforced for administrators

Check this host

Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.

shell

tmaegis scan --target gitlab