CVE-2025-24362
Vulnerability Scoring
Status: Awaiting Analysis
Last updated: 🕑 31 Mar 2025, 14:15 UTC
Originally published on: 🕕 24 Jan 2025, 18:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 65 days
CVSS Release:
CVE-2025-24362: In some circumstances, debug artifacts uploaded by the CodeQL Action after a failed code scanning workflow run may contain the environment variables from the workflow run, including any secrets that were exposed as environment variables to the workflow. Users with read access to the repository would be able to access this artifact, containing any secrets from the environment. This vulnerability is patched in CodeQL Action version 3.28.3 or later, or CodeQL CLI version 2.20.3 or later. For some affected workflow runs, the exposed environment variables in the debug artifacts included a valid `GITHUB_TOKEN` for the workflow run, which has access to the repository in which the workflow ran, and all the permissions specified in the workflow or job. The `GITHUB_TOKEN` is valid until the job completes or 24 hours has elapsed, whichever comes first. Environment variables are exposed only from workflow runs that satisfy all of the following conditions: - Code scanning workflow configured to scan the Java/Kotlin languages. - Running in a repository containing Kotlin source code. - Running with debug artifacts enabled. - Using CodeQL Action versions <= 3.28.2, and CodeQL CLI versions >= 2.9.2 (May 2022) and <= 2.20.2. - The workflow run fails before the CodeQL database is finalized within the `github/codeql-action/analyze` step. - Running in any GitHub environment: GitHub.com, GitHub Enterprise Cloud, and GitHub Enterprise Server. Note: artifacts are only accessible to users within the same GitHub environment with access to the scanned repo. The `GITHUB_TOKEN` exposed in this way would only have been valid for workflow runs that satisfy all of the following conditions, in addition to the conditions above: - Using CodeQL Action versions >= 3.26.11 (October 2024) and <= 3.28.2, or >= 2.26.11 and < 3. - Running in GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise Cloud only (not valid on GitHub Enterprise Server). In rare cases during advanced setup, logging of environment variables may also occur during database creation of Java, Swift, and C/C++. Please read the corresponding CodeQL CLI advisory GHSA-gqh3-9prg-j95m for more details. In CodeQL CLI versions >= 2.9.2 and <= 2.20.2, the CodeQL Kotlin extractor logs all environment variables by default into an intermediate file during the process of creating a CodeQL database for Kotlin code. This is a part of the CodeQL CLI and is invoked by the CodeQL Action for analyzing Kotlin repositories. On Actions, the environment variables logged include GITHUB_TOKEN, which grants permissions to the repository being scanned. The intermediate file containing environment variables is deleted when finalizing the database, so it is not included in a successfully created database. It is, however, included in the debug artifact that is uploaded on a failed analysis run if the CodeQL Action was invoked in debug mode. Therefore, under these specific circumstances (incomplete database creation using the CodeQL Action in debug mode) an attacker with access to the debug artifact would gain unauthorized access to repository secrets from the environment, including both the `GITHUB_TOKEN` and any user-configured secrets made available via environment variables. The impact of the `GITHUB_TOKEN` leaked in this environment is limited: - For workflows on GitHub.com and GitHub Enterprise Cloud using CodeQL Action versions >= 3.26.11 and <= 3.28.2, or >= 2.26.11 and < 3, which in turn use the `actions/artifacts v4` library, the debug artifact is uploaded before the workflow job completes. During this time the `GITHUB_TOKEN` is still valid, providing an opportunity for attackers to gain access to the repository. - For all other workflows, the debug artifact is uploaded after the workflow job completes, at which point the leaked `GITHUB_TOKEN` has been revoked and cannot be used to access the repository.
The exploitability of CVE-2025-24362 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
No exploitability data is available for CVE-2025-24362.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2025-24362, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2025-24362, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.
EPSS Score: 0.044% (probability of exploit)
EPSS Percentile: 12.92%
(lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 87.08% of others.
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