CVE-2021-22868 Unsafe configuration options in GitHub Pages leading to path traversal on GitHub Enterprise Server

Medium 4.3 Published 24 Sep 2021 Updated 3 Aug 2024

Attacker with Pages build permissions can read arbitrary files on the server via unsafe configuration options in GitHub Enterprise Server.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2021-22868?

CVE-2021-22868 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Github Enterprise Server, published on 24 Sep 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A path traversal vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that could be exploited when building a GitHub Pages site. User-controlled configuration options used by GitHub Pages were not sufficiently restricted and made it possible to read files on the GitHub Enterprise Server instance. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need permission to create and build a GitHub Pages site on the GitHub Enterprise Server instance. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.1.8 and was fixed in 3.1.8, 3.0.16, and 2.22.22. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program. This is the result of an incomplete fix for CVE-2021-22867.

Weakness: CWE-22, CWE-77

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-22868?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Github Enterprise Server.

How do I fix CVE-2021-22868?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-22868 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2021-22868 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-22868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Github Enterprise Server vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-8fgf-5pmh-rgpm.