GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf
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. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Harbor timing attack risk
Blast Radius
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 | 1.10.18 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/goharbor/harbor | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.7.3 | 2.7.3 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/goharbor/harbor | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.3 | 2.8.3 |
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. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
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 pinpoints whether GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
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 detects GHSA-mq6f-5xh5-hgcf across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.