A Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting the pre-receive hook functionality, potentially leading to privilege escalation and system compromise. The vulnerability involves using dynamically allocated ports that become temporarily available, such as during a hot patch upgrade. This means the vulnerability is only exploitable during specific operational conditions, which limits the attack window. Exploitation required either site administrator permissions to enable and configure pre-receive hooks or a user with permissions to modify repositories containing pre-receive hooks where this functionality was already enabled. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.18 and was fixed in versions 3.17.1, 3.16.4, 3.15.8, 3.14.13, 3.13.16. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.2, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from github organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2025, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2025-04-17T23:15:42.260
2025-09-05T14:59:50.080
Analyzed
CVSSv3.1: 7.2 (HIGH)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | github | enterprise_server | < 3.13.16 | Yes |
| Application | github | enterprise_server | < 3.14.13 | Yes |
| Application | github | enterprise_server | < 3.15.8 | Yes |
| Application | github | enterprise_server | < 3.16.4 | Yes |
| Application | github | enterprise_server | < 3.17.1 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For github's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.