Enterprise ServerApplication · GitHub
CVE-2023-46648
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 insufficient entropy vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server (GHES) that allowed an attacker to brute force a user invitation to the GHES Management Console. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need knowledge that a user invitation was pending. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server since 3.8 and was fixed in version 3.8.12, 3.9.7, 3.10.4, and 3.11.1. 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 Management Console user invitation system uses insufficient entropy for its invitation tokens, allowing attackers to brute force valid invitation codes. An attacker with knowledge that a user invitation is pending can systematically guess the invitation token to gain unauthorized access to the Management Console.
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
>= 3.8.0, < 3.8.12>= 3.9.0, < 3.9.7>= 3.10.0, < 3.10.4= 3.11.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 versionAccess the Management Console by navigating to /setup on your instance and locate the version displayed, or run 'ghe-version' via SSH if you have administrative shell accessAffected if The installed version is 3.8.0 through 3.8.11, 3.9.0 through 3.9.6, 3.10.0 through 3.10.3, or exactly 3.11.0
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Identify pending Management Console invitationsIn the Management Console, go to the Users or Invitations settings page and check for any pending user invitationsAffected if There are pending user invitations and the GitHub Enterprise Server version is within the affected ranges
You are affected if your GitHub Enterprise Server version falls within the vulnerable ranges and there is a pending invitation in the Management Console that could be brute forced.
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 · scoped3.8.123.9.73.10.4
Upgrade GitHub Enterprise Server to version 3.8.12, 3.9.7, 3.10.4, or 3.11.1 or later to receive the entropy fix for invitation tokens.
Upgrade to version 3.11.1 (or the latest 3.x release in your current branch: 3.8.12 for 3.8.x, 3.9.7 for 3.9.x, 3.10.4 for 3.10.x)
- Identify your current GitHub Enterprise Server version using the Management Console or administrative shell
- Backup your GitHub Enterprise Server instance according to the official backup documentation
- Review the upgrade prerequisites for your target version in the GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade guide
- Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades require downtime
- Download the appropriate upgrade package for your target version (3.8.12, 3.9.7, 3.10.4, or 3.11.1) from the GitHub Enterprise downloads portal
- Follow the standard GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade procedure using the administrative shell or hotpatch method
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Management Console and testing user authentication
- Ensure pending user invitations are re-issued after upgrade to invalidate any potentially compromised tokens
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
- Implementation4.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-46648 — 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-2023-46648 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
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