GitLab maximum-severity path traversal exploited within hours of disclosure

CVE-2026-85706, a CVSS 10.0 unauthenticated path traversal in the GitLab repository commits API, came under in-the-wild probing from 06:00 UTC on 11 September 2026 according to watchTowr, the same day CISA added it to the KEV catalog. Exploitation requires only that a single public project exists and allows arbitrary file reads of logs, configuration files, credentials and secrets. Successful exploitation creates a direct path to source code theft and CI/CD pipeline compromise. Patches are available in 19.3.2, 19.2.6 and 19.1.8, with a 14 September federal remediation deadline.