# CVE-2022-29220: No verification of commits origin in github-action-merge-dependabot

> Attackers can inject malicious commits into Dependabot PRs because the action fails to verify GPG signatures, allowing unauthorized code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 31 May 2022
- **Updated:** 23 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v5vr-h3xq-8v6w

## What is CVE-2022-29220?

CVE-2022-29220 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in fastify github-action-merge-dependabot, published on 31 May 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

github-action-merge-dependabot is an action that automatically approves and merges dependabot pull requests (PRs). Prior to version 3.2.0, github-action-merge-dependabot does not check if a commit created by dependabot is verified with the proper GPG key. There is just a check if the actor is set to `dependabot[bot]` to determine if the PR is a legit PR. Theoretically, an owner of a seemingly valid and legit action in the pipeline can check if the PR is created by dependabot and if their own action has enough permissions to modify the PR in the pipeline. If so, they can modify the PR by adding a second seemingly valid and legit commit to the PR, as they can set arbitrarily the username and email in for commits in git. Because the bot only checks if the actor is valid, it would pass the malicious changes through and merge the PR automatically, without getting noticed by project maintainers. It would probably not be possible to determine where the malicious commit came from, as it would only say `dependabot[bot]` and the corresponding email-address. Version 3.2.0 contains a patch for this issue.

Weakness: CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity), CWE-283 (Unverified Ownership)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-29220?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Fastify Github Action Merge Dependabot.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-29220?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-29220 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-29220 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-29220 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-29220 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-29220 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in fastify github-action-merge-dependabot, published on 31 May 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-29220 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: fastify github-action-merge-dependabot. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29220/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29220/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-29220
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-29220
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-29220

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29220/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.