GitHubApplication
CVE-2021-22863
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 the GitHub Enterprise Server GraphQL API that allowed authenticated users of the instance to modify the maintainer collaboration permission of a pull request without proper authorization. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker would be able to gain access to head branches of pull requests opened on repositories of which they are a maintainer. Forking is disabled by default for organization owned private repositories and would prevent this vulnerability. Additionally, branch protections such as required pull request reviews or status checks would prevent unauthorized commits from being merged without further review or validation. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server since 2.12.22 and was fixed in versions 2.20.24, 2.21.15, 2.22.7 and 3.0.1. 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 confidenceGitHub Enterprise Server's GraphQL API contains an improper access control flaw that allows authenticated users to modify maintainer collaboration permissions on pull requests without proper authorization. This enables attackers who are maintainers on some repositories to gain access to head branches of pull requests in other repositories they shouldn't have access to.
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
>= 2.12.22, < 2.20.24>= 2.21.0, < 2.21.15>= 2.22.0, < 2.22.7>= 3.0.0, < 3.0.1CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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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Check GitHub Enterprise Server versionNavigate to the administrative dashboard: Site admin > Management Console > Help in the footer shows the version, or run 'ghe-version' via SSH if you have admin accessAffected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 2.12.22 to 2.20.23, 2.21.0 to 2.21.14, 2.22.0 to 2.22.6, or 3.0.0
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Verify if GraphQL API is accessibleAttempt to access the GraphQL endpoint at /api/graphql using an authenticated API token with repository accessAffected if The GraphQL API responds successfully to authenticated requests (the vulnerability requires a maintainer-level authenticated user)
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Identify maintainer users across repositoriesReview repository team memberships and individual collaborator permissions in the organization settings at /organizations/:org/settings/collaborationAffected if There are users who have maintainer permissions on some repositories but not on others within the same organization
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Check if forking is enabled for private repositoriesNavigate to organization settings at /organizations/:org/settings and inspect the 'Allow forking' setting under Repository visibility, or check repository settings individuallyAffected if Forking is allowed for organization-owned private repositories
You are affected if your GitHub Enterprise Server version is within the affected ranges AND you have maintainer users with access to some but not all repositories in your organization, especially if forking is enabled for private repositories.
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 data2.20.242.21.152.22.7
Upgrade GitHub Enterprise Server to versions 2.20.24, 2.21.15, 2.22.7, 3.0.1 or later. Additionally, ensure forking is disabled for organization-owned private repositories and enforce branch protection rules requiring pull request reviews and status checks.
Fix this in GitHub
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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 $3,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22863 — 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-2021-22863 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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- 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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