How severe is CVE-2022-39321?

CVE-2022-39321 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-39321?

CVE-2022-39321 affects the following packages: actions/runner (GitHub Actions), actions/runner (GitHub Actions), actions/runner (GitHub Actions), actions/runner (GitHub Actions), actions/runner (GitHub Actions). Ecosystems affected: GitHub Actions.

How do I fix CVE-2022-39321?

Update actions/runner to 2.296.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-39321 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-39321 in my GitHub Actions dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for actions/runner, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-39321 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2022-39321 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-39321 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-39321?

CVE-2022-39321 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 2.0%, placing it in the 80th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-39321?

CVE-2022-39321 is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2022-39321 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-39321 was published on October 25, 2022 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦

📦 GitHub Actions

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2022-39321 — runner

HIGHFix: actions/runner#2107

CVE-2022-39321 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability in actions/runner. A fix is available for actions/runner — see the affected versions and patch details below.

GitHub Actions Runner vulnerable to Docker Command Escaping

Also known asGHSA-2c6m-6gqh-6qg3

Published

Oct 25, 2022

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

5 pkgs

Patched

5 / 5

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 9, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-39321.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

2.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs80th percentile — riskier than 80% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

5 pkgs affected

📦actions/runner📦actions/runner📦actions/runner📦actions/runner📦actions/runner

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects GitHub Actions packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Impact

The actions runner invokes the docker cli directly in order to run job containers, service containers, or container actions. A bug in the logic for how the environment is encoded into these docker commands was discovered that allows an input to escape the environment variable and modify that docker command invocation directly. Jobs that use container actions, job containers, or service containers alongside untrusted user inputs in environment variables may be vulnerable.

Patches

The Actions Runner has been patched, both on github.com and hotfixes for GHES and GHAE customers. Please update to one of the following versions of the runner:

2.296.2
2.293.1
2.289.4
2.285.2
2.283.4

GHES and GHAE customers may want to patch their instance in order to have their runners automatically upgrade to these new runner versions.

Workarounds

You may want to consider removing any container actions, job containers, or service containers from your jobs until you are able to upgrade your runner versions.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in the actions runner

Affected Packages

5 total 5 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦GitHub Actions	`actions/runner`	≥ 2.294.0&&< 2.296.2	2.296.2
📦GitHub Actions	`actions/runner`	≥ 2.290.0&&< 2.293.1	2.293.1
📦GitHub Actions	`actions/runner`	≥ 2.286.0&&< 2.289.4	2.289.4
📦GitHub Actions	`actions/runner`	≥ 2.284.0&&< 2.285.2	2.285.2
📦GitHub Actions	`actions/runner`	all versions	2.283.4

Affected Products

1 product · 5 configurations

Application

runnergithub

≥ 2.294.0 && < 2.296.2

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for actions/runner, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update actions/runner to 2.296.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-39321 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The actions runner invokes the docker cli directly in order to run job containers, service containers, or container actions. A bug in the logic for how the environment is encoded into these docker commands was discovered that allows an input to escape the environment variable and modify that docker command invocation directly. Jobs that use [container actions](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/creating-actions/creating-a-docker-container-action), [job containers](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-jobs/running-jobs-in-a-container), or [service containers](https://docs.github