Enterprise ServerApplication · GitHub
CVE-2021-41598
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 · uneditedA UI misrepresentation vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed more permissions to be granted during a GitHub App's user-authorization web flow than was displayed to the user during approval. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to create a GitHub App on the instance and have a user authorize the application through the web authentication flow. All permissions being granted would properly be shown during the first authorization, but if the user later updated the set of repositories the app was installed on after the GitHub App had configured additional user-level permissions, those additional permissions would not be displayed, leading to more permissions being granted than the user potentially intended. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.3 and was fixed in versions 3.2.5, 3.1.13, 3.0.21. 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 confidenceA UI misrepresentation vulnerability in GitHub Enterprise Server's GitHub App authorization flow allowed users to grant more permissions than displayed. When a user first authorizes a GitHub App and later updates the repository set the app is installed on, additional user-level permissions configured by the app are silently granted without being shown to the user during the update.
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
Enterprise ServerApplication
< 3.0.21>= 3.1.0, < 3.1.13>= 3.2.0, < 3.2.5CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 versionRun 'ghe-version' command in the management shell or check the version through the administrative web interface under /site-admin/settingsAffected if The version is < 3.0.21, or >= 3.1.0 and < 3.1.13, or >= 3.2.0 and < 3.2.5
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Identify GitHub Apps with repository permission changesReview GitHub Audit Log for events related to 'github_app_authorization' or 'github_app_permission' changes. Look for instances where a user first authorized an app, then later modified which repositories the app has access to.Affected if Any GitHub App was initially authorized and subsequently had its repository installation scope modified
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Compare granted permissions to originally displayed permissionsExport the current permission set of affected GitHub Apps via the API or admin interface and cross-reference with the audit log entries for the initial authorization to see if additional user-level permissions exist that were not shown during the update flow.Affected if The app currently holds user-level permissions (such as read:user, user:email, or user:follow) that were not explicitly shown to the user during the repository scope update
You are affected if your GitHub Enterprise Server version falls within the vulnerable range AND any GitHub App authorization was updated to change repository access after initial authorization, resulting in silently granted permissions not displayed in the update UI.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.0.213.1.133.2.5
Upgrade GitHub Enterprise Server to version 3.2.5, 3.1.13, 3.0.21, or later. Organizations should review existing GitHub App authorizations to identify any instances where permissions were granted beyond what users intended.
Upgrade to GitHub Enterprise Server 3.0.21, 3.1.13, or 3.2.5 (or later versions within your release line)
- 1. Back up your GitHub Enterprise Server instance data and configuration before proceeding
- 2. Schedule a maintenance window as GitHub Enterprise Server upgrades require downtime
- 3. Download the appropriate fixed version from GitHub (3.0.21, 3.1.13, or 3.2.5 or later)
- 4. Follow the official GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade documentation to apply the update
- 5. After upgrade, verify the instance is running correctly and test GitHub App authorization flows
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Enterprise Server
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-41598 — 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-2021-41598 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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