As a catastrophic security flaw, CVE-2026-31976 has severe implications, demanding immediate intervention.
Status: Analyzed
Last updated: 🕖 16 Mar 2026, 19:02 UTC
Originally published on: 🕗 11 Mar 2026, 20:16 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 4 days
CVSS Release: version 3
nvd@nist.gov
Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE-2026-31976: xygeni-action is the GitHub Action for Xygeni Scanner. On March 3, 2026, an attacker with access to compromised credentials created a series of pull requests (#46, #47, #48) injecting obfuscated shell code into action.yml. The PRs were blocked by branch protection rules and never merged into the main branch. However, the attacker used the compromised GitHub App credentials to move the mutable v5 tag to point at the malicious commit (4bf1d4e19ad81a3e8d4063755ae0f482dd3baf12) from one of the unmerged PRs. This commit remained in the repository's git object store, and any workflow referencing @v5 would fetch and execute it. This is a supply chain compromise via tag poisoning. Any GitHub Actions workflow referencing xygeni/xygeni-action@v5 during the affected window (approximately March 3–10, 2026) executed a C2 implant that granted the attacker arbitrary command execution on the CI runner for up to 180 seconds per workflow run.
The exploitability of CVE-2026-31976 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).
With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2026-31976 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.
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-2026-31976, 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-2026-31976, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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