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Enterprise ServerApplication · GitHub

CVE-2024-9487

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.11.16 / 3.12.10 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
An improper verification of cryptographic signature vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed SAML SSO authentication to be bypassed resulting in unauthorized provisioning of users and access to the instance. Exploitation required the encrypted assertions feature to be enabled, and the attacker would require direct network access as well as a signed SAML response or metadata document. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.15 and was fixed in versions 3.11.16, 3.12.10, 3.13.5, and 3.14.2. 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 confidence

GitHub Enterprise Server has an improper verification of cryptographic signature vulnerability in its SAML SSO implementation. When encrypted assertions are enabled, the server fails to properly validate signatures on SAML responses or metadata documents, allowing attackers with network access and a signed SAML payload to bypass authentication and gain unauthorized user provisioning and instance access.

MitigationUpgrade GitHub Enterprise Server to version 3.11.16, 3.12.10, 3.13.5, 3.14.2, or 3.15 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling the encrypted assertions feature as a temporary mitigation, though this may impact security requirements.

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:< 3.11.16>= 3.12.0, < 3.12.10>= 3.13.0, < 3.13.5>= 3.14.0, < 3.14.2

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify GitHub Enterprise Server version
    Access the GitHub Enterprise Server admin console. Navigate to the site admin dashboard or use the command line: ghe-version
    Affected if Version falls within < 3.11.16, >= 3.12.0 and < 3.12.10, >= 3.13.0 and < 3.13.5, or >= 3.14.0 and < 3.14.2
  2. Confirm SAML SSO is configured
    In the admin console, go to Authentication > SAML SSO settings and verify that SAML authentication is enabled for the instance
    Affected if SAML SSO is enabled and configured as the authentication method
  3. Verify encrypted assertions feature status
    In the SAML SSO settings page, locate the 'Encrypted assertions' or 'Encryption' option under the SAML configuration and check whether it is turned on or enabled
    Affected if Encrypted assertions are enabled - this is the required condition for exploitation
  4. Check if the instance processes SAML metadata
    Review SAML IdP metadata processing or examine SAML configuration for any metadata document imports. This vulnerability affects both SAML response and metadata signature validation when encryption is active
    Affected if The instance accepts or processes SAML metadata from an IdP while encrypted assertions are enabled

The environment is affected if GitHub Enterprise Server version is within the vulnerable ranges AND SAML SSO is configured with encrypted assertions enabled.

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 3.11.16 / 3.12.10 / 3.13.5 or later
Fixed in 3.11.163.12.103.13.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GitHub Enterprise Server to version 3.11.16, 3.12.10, 3.13.5, 3.14.2, or 3.15 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling the encrypted assertions feature as a temporary mitigation, though this may impact security requirements.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to version 3.14.2 (or the appropriate fixed version: 3.11.16, 3.12.10, or 3.13.5 based on current version)

  1. Identify the current GitHub Enterprise Server version by checking the Management Console or using the administrative API
  2. Determine the appropriate upgrade target based on the current version: for versions < 3.11, upgrade to 3.11.16; for versions >= 3.12.0 and < 3.12.10, upgrade to 3.12.10; for versions >= 3.13.0 and < 3.13.5, upgrade to 3.13.5; for versions >= 3.14.0 and < 3.14.2, upgrade to 3.14.2
  3. Review the GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade prerequisites and ensure sufficient disk space, memory, and backup storage are available
  4. Create a complete backup of the GitHub Enterprise Server instance including database, repositories, and configuration
  5. Download the appropriate GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade package from the GitHub Customer Portal
  6. Follow the standard GitHub Enterprise Server upgrade procedure: put the instance in maintenance mode, run the upgrade package, verify the upgrade completed successfully, and disable maintenance mode
  7. Verify the upgraded version matches the target fixed version (3.11.16, 3.12.10, 3.13.5, or 3.14.2)
  8. Test SAML SSO authentication functionality to confirm the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat GitHub Enterprise Server upgrades may have migration requirements; review release notes for breaking changes between current and target versions before proceeding

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,620
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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-2024-9487 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