# CVE-2023-23761: Improper authentication vulnerability in GitHub Enterprise Server leading to modification of secret gists

> An attacker can modify other users' secret gists by bypassing authentication via SSH certificate authority, requiring knowledge of the gist URL.

- **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 7 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q7wq-398w-6957

## What is CVE-2023-23761?

CVE-2023-23761 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Github Enterprise Server, published on 7 Apr 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An improper authentication vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an unauthorized actor to modify other users' secret gists by authenticating through an SSH certificate authority. To do so, a user had to know the secret gist's URL. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.9 and was fixed in versions 3.4.18, 3.5.15, 3.6.11, 3.7.8, and 3.8.1. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-23761?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Github Enterprise Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-23761?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-23761 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-23761 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-23761 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Github Enterprise Server

- [CVE-2024-4985](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4985/): Auth bypass in Enterprise Server (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2022-23739](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23739/): Missing authorization in GitHub Enterprise Server (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-46255](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46255/): Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in GitHub Enterprise Server leading to RCE (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-22869](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22869/): Improper access control in GitHub Enterprise Server allows self-hosted runners to execute outside their control group (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-9487](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9487/): Auth bypass in Enterprise Server (critical 9.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-23761 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-23761 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Github Enterprise Server, published on 7 Apr 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-23761 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Github Enterprise Server. 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-2023-23761/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-23761/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-23761
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-23761
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-23761

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-23761/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.