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AppApplication · Octokit

CVE-2023-50728

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.2 / 9.26.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
octokit/webhooks is a GitHub webhook events toolset for Node.js. Starting in 9.26.0 and prior to 9.26.3, 10.9.2, 11.1.2, and 12.0.4, there is a problem caused by an issue with error handling in the @octokit/webhooks library because the error can be undefined in some cases. The resulting request was found to cause an uncaught exception that ends the nodejs process. The bug is fixed in octokit/webhooks.js 9.26.3, 10.9.2, 11.1.2, and 12.0.4, app.js 14.02, octokit.js 3.1.2, and Protobot 12.3.3.

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 confidence

The @octokit/webhooks library has a defect in error handling where the error object can be undefined in certain conditions. When this occurs, it triggers an uncaught exception that crashes the Node.js process, resulting in denial of service for applications using this library.

MitigationUpgrade @octokit/webhooks to version 9.26.3, 10.9.2, 11.1.2, or 12.0.4 or later to receive the error handling fix.

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
AppApplication
Affected:= 14.0.1
OctokitApplication
Affected:< 3.1.2
WebhooksApplication
Affected:< 9.26.3>= 10.0.0, < 10.9.2>= 11.0.0, < 11.1.2>= 12.0.0, < 12.0.4
ProbotApplication
Affected:< 12.3.3

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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

  1. Identify installed @octokit/webhooks version
    Run 'npm list @octokit/webhooks' or check package.json dependencies to find the installed version number
    Affected if The installed version is < 9.26.3, or between 10.0.0 and 10.9.1, or between 11.0.0 and 11.1.1, or between 12.0.0 and 12.0.3
  2. Check for related Octokit packages
    Run 'npm list @octokit/app' to check if Octokit App is installed, and note its version
    Affected if Octokit App version is exactly 14.0.1
  3. Check for Probot installation
    Run 'npm list probot' to determine if Probot is installed, and identify its version
    Affected if Probot version is less than 12.3.3
  4. Verify webhooks are in use
    Search codebase for imports of @octokit/webhooks, usage of Webhooks class, or any webhook event handling code
    Affected if The application imports and uses @octokit/webhooks functionality and the version is vulnerable as identified above
  5. Check for parent Octokit version
    Run 'npm list @octokit' to find the Octokit library version if installed as a dependency
    Affected if Octokit version is less than 3.1.2 and the webhooks library is also in use

The environment is affected if @octokit/webhooks or related packages (Octokit App, Probot) are installed at vulnerable versions and the application processes webhook events, as the undefined error object can crash the Node.js process.

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 3.1.2 / 9.26.3 / 10.9.2 or later
Fixed in 3.1.29.26.310.9.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade @octokit/webhooks to version 9.26.3, 10.9.2, 11.1.2, or 12.0.4 or later to receive the error handling fix.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to: @octokit/webhooks (9.26.3, 10.9.2, 11.1.2, or 12.0.4), octokit (3.1.2+), @octokit/app (14.0.2+), or probot (12.3.3+)

  1. Identify which octokit package(s) are in use (octokit, @octokit/webhooks, @octokit/app, or probot) by running 'npm list'
  2. For @octokit/webhooks: upgrade to version 9.26.3, 10.9.2, 11.1.2, or 12.0.4 depending on your major version branch
  3. For octokit (npm package): upgrade to version 3.1.2 or higher
  4. For @octokit/app: upgrade to version 14.0.2 or higher
  5. For probot: upgrade to version 12.3.3 or higher
  6. Run 'npm update' or 'npm install <package>@latest' to apply the upgrade
  7. Restart the Node.js application to ensure the patched version is loaded
  8. Verify the application runs without uncaught exceptions related to webhook error handling
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a bug fix for error handling; verify any custom error handling code that interacts with webhooks still functions correctly after upgrade

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

Fix this in App Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2023-50728 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