CVE-2024-6336 in GitHub
Summary
by MITRE • 07/17/2024
A Security Misconfiguration vulnerability in GitHub Enterprise Server allowed sensitive information disclosure to unauthorized users in GitHub Enterprise Server by exploiting organization ruleset feature. This attack required an organization member to explicitly change the visibility of a dependent repository from private to public. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.14 and was fixed in versions 3.13.1, 3.12.6, 3.11.12, 3.10.14, and 3.9.17. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/17/2024
This security misconfiguration vulnerability in GitHub Enterprise Server represents a critical flaw in access control and repository visibility management that could lead to unauthorized information disclosure. The vulnerability specifically exploited the organization ruleset feature, which is designed to enforce security policies and access controls across repositories within an organization. When an organization member intentionally modified a dependent repository's visibility settings from private to public, the system failed to properly validate or restrict this action, allowing sensitive data to be exposed to users who should not have access to it. This issue demonstrates a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege and proper access control enforcement within the enterprise platform.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation mechanisms within the organization ruleset functionality. When repository visibility changes occur, the system should enforce strict policy checks based on organizational security configurations and user permissions. However, the flaw allowed users to bypass these controls by explicitly changing repository visibility settings, effectively undermining the security posture of the entire organization. This represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks where the system trusted user actions without proper validation against established security policies. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-668, which addresses "Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere" and specifically targets improper access control mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it could potentially expose sensitive code repositories, configuration files, and other proprietary information to unauthorized parties. Organizations relying on GitHub Enterprise Server for their development workflows faced significant risks when repositories containing intellectual property, security credentials, or sensitive business data could be inadvertently made public. The vulnerability's exploitation required only a single organization member with appropriate privileges to make the visibility change, making it particularly dangerous as it could be leveraged by both insider threats and compromised accounts. This scenario directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering attacks, as the vulnerability exploited a legitimate user action to achieve unauthorized access.
The affected versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.14 represent a substantial attack surface, as organizations using these older versions would have been vulnerable to this specific misconfiguration. The patch releases 3.13.1, 3.12.6, 3.11.12, 3.10.14, and 3.9.17 addressed the issue by implementing proper validation checks within the organization ruleset feature. Organizations should prioritize immediate upgrade to these patched versions to remediate the vulnerability. The fix likely involved strengthening the authorization checks that occur when repository visibility settings are modified, ensuring that such changes are properly validated against organizational policies and user permissions. This vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive security testing and validation of access control mechanisms, particularly those that govern repository visibility and access permissions in enterprise development platforms. The disclosure through the GitHub Bug Bounty program demonstrates the value of coordinated vulnerability disclosure and responsible security research in identifying and addressing critical security flaws before they can be exploited by malicious actors.