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Enterprise ServerApplication · GitHub

CVE-2023-23765

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.6.16 / 3.7.13 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
An incorrect comparison vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed commit smuggling by displaying an incorrect diff in a re-opened Pull Request. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need write access to the repository. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty Program https://bounty.github.com/ .

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 · moderate confidence

An incorrect comparison vulnerability in GitHub Enterprise Server causes the diff display logic to show incorrect commit content when viewing a re-opened Pull Request. This allows an attacker with write access to smuggle different commits than originally reviewed by presenting a modified diff in the reopened PR.

MitigationUpdate GitHub Enterprise Server to the version containing the fix. No user-side configuration changes are required; the vulnerability is fixed in the product code.

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
Affected:>= 3.6.0, < 3.6.16>= 3.7.0, < 3.7.13>= 3.8.0, < 3.8.6= 3.9.0

CVSS 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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify GitHub Enterprise Server version
    Access the GitHub Enterprise Server management console or run 'ghe-version' command line tool. Navigate to the Site Admin dashboard under /site-admin or use the administrative shell to check the installed version.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 3.6.0 to 3.6.15, 3.7.0 to 3.7.12, 3.8.0 to 3.8.5, or exactly 3.9.0.
  2. Confirm re-opened pull requests exist
    Query the GitHub Enterprise API or database for pull requests with state changes indicating they were closed and then reopened. Use the GitHub API endpoint '/repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls' and filter for pull requests where the 'state' transitioned or review comments changed after a close event.
    Affected if Re-opened pull requests are present in any repository on the instance.
  3. Review diffs in re-opened pull requests
    Manually inspect the diff content displayed in re-opened pull requests by comparing the shown diff against the actual commit content in git. Run 'git show <commit_sha>' locally and compare against what the web interface displays in the PR diff view.
    Affected if The diff displayed in the web interface does not match the actual commit content from the git repository.

The environment is affected if GitHub Enterprise Server version is 3.6.0-3.6.15, 3.7.0-3.7.12, 3.8.0-3.8.5, or 3.9.0, and re-opened pull requests are being viewed on the instance.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.6.16 / 3.7.13 / 3.8.6 or later
Fixed in 3.6.163.7.133.8.6
Interim mitigation

Update GitHub Enterprise Server to the version containing the fix. No user-side configuration changes are required; the vulnerability is fixed in the product code.

Recommended fix High confidence

3.6.16 (for 3.6.x), 3.7.13 (for 3.7.x), 3.8.6 (for 3.8.x), or next available patch for 3.9.x

  1. 1. Identify the current GitHub Enterprise Server version by navigating to the Management Console or using the administrative API
  2. 2. Based on the current version, determine the appropriate target release from the fixed versions: 3.6.16, 3.7.13, or 3.8.6
  3. 3. For version 3.9.0 specifically, upgrade to the next available patch release that includes the security fix
  4. 4. Review the GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade prerequisites and ensure adequate backup of data
  5. 5. Follow the standard upgrade procedure documented in GitHub's installation guide for your deployment method
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the installation is functioning correctly
  7. 7. Test that pull request diffs display correctly, especially for re-opened pull requests
Caveat Standard GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade considerations apply; review release notes for any breaking changes between versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Enterprise Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-23765 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data