# CVE-2026-88881: Renovate before 44.11.3 Credential Exfiltration via Link Header

> A malicious GitHub server can exfiltrate Renovate credentials by manipulating pagination Link headers, requiring an upgrade to fix.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.2 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gwwm-f4gw-c69f, GHSA-w57v-h33h-835c

## What is CVE-2026-88881?

CVE-2026-88881 is a critical server-side request forgery vulnerability in mend-renovate-ce, published on 10 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Renovate, a dependency update tool, follows pagination links supplied by the GitHub server in the HTTP `Link` header when interacting with GitHub.com, GitHub Enterprise Cloud, or GitHub Enterprise Server, and sends the credentials configured for that host to the URL given as the 'next' page. Because the pagination URL is not validated against the host originally contacted, a malicious or compromised GitHub server can return a `Link` header pointing to an attacker-controlled host and cause Renovate to disclose those credentials to it. Exploitation requires that the GitHub server Renovate talks to (as the repository host or as a datasource such as github-releases, github-tags, or git-refs) is already malicious or compromised. The issue is fixed in renovate 44.11.3 (npm and renovate/renovate container images), Mend Renovate CE/EE images and the mend-renovate-ce helm chart 15.4.0, and the mend-renovate-enterprise-edition helm chart 10.4.0. There is no workaround; the pre-existing RENOVATE_X_REBASE_PAGINATION_LINKS option disables the new host check and should only be used with servers that intentionally use different pagination hosts.

Weakness: CWE-601 (URL Redirection to Untrusted Site)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-88881?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-88881?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-88881 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-88881 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-88881 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-88881 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-88881 is a critical server-side request forgery vulnerability in mend-renovate-ce, published on 10 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-88881 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: mend-renovate-ce. 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-2026-88881/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-88881/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-88881
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-88881
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-88881

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-88881/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.