GitHubApplication
CVE-2021-22862
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn improper access control vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an authenticated user with the ability to fork a repository to disclose Actions secrets for the parent repository of the fork. This vulnerability existed due to a flaw that allowed the base reference of a pull request to be updated to point to an arbitrary SHA or another pull request outside of the fork repository. By establishing this incorrect reference in a PR, the restrictions that limit the Actions secrets sent a workflow from forks could be bypassed. This vulnerability affected GitHub Enterprise Server version 3.0.0, 3.0.0.rc2, and 3.0.0.rc1. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceAn improper access control flaw in GitHub Enterprise Server allowed authenticated fork users to manipulate pull request base references to point to arbitrary SHAs or external pull requests, bypassing restrictions that normally prevent Actions secrets from being exposed to workflows from forked repositories.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
GitHubApplication
= 3.0.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify GitHub Enterprise Server versionAccess the GitHub Enterprise Server administration console or run 'ghe-version' command via SSH to the appliance to retrieve the installed version numberAffected if The installed version is exactly 3.0.0
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Verify if pull request base reference manipulation is possibleAs an authenticated user with fork access, attempt to create a pull request with a base reference pointing to an arbitrary SHA or external pull request that differs from the intended base branchAffected if The base reference can be modified to point to arbitrary SHAs or external PRs without proper validation, indicating the vulnerability is present
Environment is affected if GitHub Enterprise Server version is exactly 3.0.0 and the base reference manipulation in pull requests succeeds as described.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade GitHub Enterprise Server to a patched version beyond 3.0.0 that addresses this vulnerability, as the fix is server-side and requires no end-user configuration changes.
Fix this in GitHub
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22862 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-22862 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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