CVE-2025-11578: GitHub Enterprise Server · Link Following
Affects GitHub Enterprise ServerSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in 3.14.20 : patch GitHub Enterprise Server soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 53% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 3.14.20
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Nov 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Enterprise Server | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
European organizations should immediately verify their GitHub Enterprise Server version and apply the patches released in versions 3.14.20, 3.15.15, 3.16.11, 3.17.8, or 3.18.2. If patching is not immediately feasible, restrict enterprise admin privileges to the minimum number of trusted personnel and enforce strong multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Implement rigorous monitoring of SSH authorized_keys files and system binaries for unauthorized changes. Conduct regular audits of pre-receive hook scripts and repository contents for suspicious symlink usage. Employ network segmentation to isolate GitHub Enterprise Servers from broader enterprise networks to limit lateral movement in case of compromise. Finally, maintain comprehensive logging and alerting on administrative actions within GitHub Enterprise Server to detect anomalous behavior promptly.
Description
A privilege escalation vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an authenticated Enterprise admin to gain root SSH access to the appliance by exploiting a symlink escape in pre-receive hook environments. By crafting a malicious repository and environment, an attacker could replace system binaries during hook cleanup and execute a payload that adds their own SSH key to the root user’s authorized keys—thereby granting themselves root SSH access to the server. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needed to have enterprise admin privileges. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.19, and was fixed in versions 3.14.20, 3.15.15, 3.16.11, 3.17.8, 3.18.2. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.
References
- docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.14/admin/release-notes (opens in a new tab)
- docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.15/admin/release-notes (opens in a new tab)
- docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.16/admin/release-notes (opens in a new tab)
- docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.17/admin/release-notes (opens in a new tab)
- docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.18/admin/release-notes (opens in a new tab)