# CVE-2025-11578: Pre-Receive Hook Path Collision Vulnerability in GitHub Enterprise Server Allowing Privilege Escalation

> An authenticated Enterprise admin can escalate privileges to root SSH access by exploiting a symlink escape in pre-receive hooks.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Nov 2025
- **Updated:** 2 Dec 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g39h-563w-fg8c

## What is CVE-2025-11578?

CVE-2025-11578 is a high-severity vulnerability in Github Enterprise Server, published on 10 Nov 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A privilege escalation vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an authenticated Enterprise admin to gain root SSH access to the appliance by exploiting a symlink escape in pre-receive hook environments. By crafting a malicious repository and environment, an attacker could replace system binaries during hook cleanup and execute a payload that adds their own SSH key to the root user’s authorized keys—thereby granting themselves root SSH access to the server. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needed to have enterprise admin privileges. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.19, and was fixed in versions 3.14.20, 3.15.15, 3.16.11, 3.17.8, 3.18.2. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-11578?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Github Enterprise Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-11578?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-11578 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-11578 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-11578 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-2025-11578 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-11578 is a high-severity vulnerability in Github Enterprise Server, published on 10 Nov 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-11578 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-2025-11578/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-11578/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-11578
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-11578
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-11578

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-11578/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.