Notification emails from GitLab can contain user generated content which could reveal sensitive information
Problem to Solve
When GitLab sends an email notification, those emails can contain user generated content. This content could be suggestions on code from a merge request, a issue comment that contains a markdown block, merge request/issue descriptions and more. The content that is generated by users could be sensitive in nature or contain code from the software being developed which may need tighter access control. Some organizational policies treat email as a less secure system or may not control their own infrastructure for email which presents risks to IP or access control of information.
Proposal
GitLab should have an alternative email option that suppresses all user generated content in emails and instead provides basic notifications that an activity has happened. Examples:
Before | After |
---|---|
Email contains contents of diff and comments from user. | Email says "XXX Commented on XXX Merge Request" |
Email contains description of issue. | Email says "Issue was created" |