CVE-2026-48501 — cli
HIGHCVE-2026-48501 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.4) CWE-863 vulnerability in github.com/cli/cli/v2. A fix is available for github.com/cli/cli/v2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
GitHub CLI tokens leak via `gh attestation` commands
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-2026-48501.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
github.com/cli/cli/v2Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
GitHub CLI incorrectly includes an authorization header in API requests to TUF repository mirrors via gh attestation, gh release verify, and gh release verify-asset commands.
Affected users:
- Authenticated
github.comusers who previously rangh attestationcommands,gh release verify, orgh release verify-asset: thegithub.comtoken was included in requests totuf-repo.github.com, a GitHub Pages domain that is not a GitHub API endpoint. All authentication types are affected. - Users with
GH_ENTERPRISE_TOKENorGITHUB_ENTERPRISE_TOKENset who previously rangh attestationcommands,gh release verify, orgh release verify-asset: the enterprise token was included in requests to external hoststuf-repo-cdn.sigstore.devandtmaproduction.blob.core.windows.net. These hosts are not operated by GitHub.
Details
The CLI uses a shared HTTP client with an authentication layer that automatically attaches tokens to outgoing requests. This layer lacks accurate host detection and can incorrectly attribute the target host, providing it with a token it should never receive.
Specifically, the host normalization logic collapses any *.github.com subdomain to github.com, so a request to tuf-repo.github.com (a GitHub Pages site, not a GitHub API endpoint) is treated as a request to github.com and receives the user's github.com token. For hosts that don't match github.com or a known GHES instance at all, the resolver falls back to GH_ENTERPRISE_TOKEN if set.
The gh attestation, gh release verify and gh release verify-asset commands fetch data from several external hosts as part of their normal operation (TUF metadata from tuf-repo.github.com and tuf-repo-cdn.sigstore.dev, artifact bundles from Azure Blob Storage). Because these requests go through the same authenticated HTTP client, the token is sent to all of them.
Impact
Tokens were transmitted in HTTP headers to the listed hosts during normal gh attestation, gh release verify, and gh release verify-asset operations. There is no evidence that tokens were logged, retained, or accessed by unauthorized parties. If a token were captured, it would grant the same access as the token holder, potentially including private repositories, organization resources, or enterprise administration depending on token type and permissions.
Remediation and mitigation
- Revoke authentication tokens used with the GitHub CLI:
- Upgrade
ghto2.93.0. - Review personal security logs and any relevant audit logs for actions associated with personal or enterprise accounts.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/cli/cli/v2 | all versions | 2.93.0go get github.com/cli/cli/v2@v2.93.0 |
Affected Products
cligithubDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/cli/cli/v2, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/cli/cli/v2 to 2.93.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-48501 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
A Moderate information disclosure flaw in GitHub CLI affects Red Hat products that use the tool, including OpenShift GitOps and OpenStack Platform. When commands like `gh attestation` or `gh release verify` are executed, the CLI incorrectly sends authentication tokens to external, untrusted hosts. This can lead to the…
To mitigate this issue, avoid using the `gh attestation`, `gh release verify`, and `gh release verify-asset` commands with the GitHub CLI in environments where sensitive GitHub authentication tokens are configured. Recommended to update to patched version.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2026-48501 (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-48501 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.