GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf — harbor
MEDIUMGHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) CWE-362 vulnerability in github.com/goharbor/harbor. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/goharbor/harbor — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Harbor timing attack risk
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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 GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/goharbor/harbor🐹github.com/goharbor/harbor🐹github.com/goharbor/harborReal-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
In the Harbor jobservice container, the comparison of secrets in the authenticator type is prone to timing attacks. The vulnerability occurs due to the following code: https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/blob/aaea068cceb4063ab89313d9785f2b40f35b0d63/src/jobservice/api/authenticator.go#L69-L69 To avoid this issue, constant time comparison should be used.
subtle.ConstantTimeCompare([]byte(expectedSecret), []byte(secret)) == 0
Impact
This attack might be possible theoretically, but no workable proof of concept is available, and access complexity is set at High. The jobservice exposes these APIs
Create a job task --- POST /api/v1/jobs
Get job task information --- GET /api/v1/jobs/{job_id}
Stop job task --- POST /api/v1/jobs/{job_id}
Get job log task --- GET /api/v1/jobs/{job_id}/log
Get job execution --- GET /api/v1/jobs/{job_id}/executions
Get job stats --- GET /api/v1/stats
Get job service configuration --- GET /api/v1/config
It is used to create jobs/stop job tasks and retrieve job task information. If an attacker obtains the secrets, it is possible to retrieve the job information, create a job, or stop a job task.
The following versions of Harbor are involved: <=Harbor 2.8.2, <=Harbor 2.7.2, <= Harbor 2.6.x, <=Harbor 1.10.17
Patches
Harbor 2.8.3, Harbor 2.7.3, Harbor 1.10.18
Workarounds
Because the jobservice only exposes HTTP service to harbor-core containers, blocking any inbound traffic from the external network to the jobservice container can reduce the risk.
Credits
Thanks to Porcupiney Hairs for reporting this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/goharbor/harbor | all versions | 1.10.18go get github.com/goharbor/harbor@v1.10.18 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/goharbor/harbor | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.7.3 | 2.7.3go get github.com/goharbor/harbor@v2.7.3 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/goharbor/harbor | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.3 | 2.8.3go get github.com/goharbor/harbor@v2.8.3 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/goharbor/harbor, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/goharbor/harbor to 1.10.18 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.