GitHub’s Latest Security Flaw Puts Over 4,000 Repositories at Risk of Repojacking:-
Critical GitHub Vulnerability Exposes 4,000+ Repositories to Repojacking Attack
A new vulnerability has been discovered in GitHub that could have exposed thousands of repositories to repojacking attacks. This vulnerability was disclosed on September 12, 2023. RepoJacking is an attack where a malicious actor registers a repository name that was previously used by someone else, and then waits for the original owner to forget to renew their subscription. Once the subscription has lapsed, the attacker can take over the repository and use it to distribute malware or other malicious code.
What is RepoJacking?
RepoJacking is a type of supply chain attack that targets software repositories. It is a relatively new type of attack that has gained popularity in recent years due to the increasing use of open-source software. In a RepoJacking attack, the attacker registers a repository name that was previously used by someone else, and then waits for the original owner to forget to renew their subscription. Once the subscription has lapsed, the attacker can take over the repository and use it to distribute malware or other malicious code.
Millions of Repositories at Risk
This is not the first time that concerns have been raised about the security of GitHub repositories. In June 2023, a study by Massachusetts-based cloud-native security firm Aqua revealed that millions of software repositories on GitHub were likely vulnerable to RepoJacking attacks. An analysis of a subset of 1.25 million repositories for the month of June 2019 revealed that as many as 36,983 repositories were vulnerable to RepoJacking, denoting a 2.95% success rate. With GitHub containing more than 330 million repositories, the findings suggest that millions of repositories could be vulnerable to a similar attack.
GitHub’s Response
GitHub has responded to the vulnerability by issuing a patch that fixes the issue. The company has also advised users to periodically inspect their code for any signs of malicious activity. In addition, GitHub has implemented several security measures to prevent RepoJacking attacks, including requiring users to verify their email address before they can create a repository, and preventing the reuse of repository names for a period of time after they have been deleted.
Trust, but verify.
Python script to automate some security checks for GitHub repositories:
import requests
# Replace with your GitHub username and repository name
github_username = “your_username”
repository_name = “your_repository”# GitHub API endpoint to check for repository details
api_url = f”https://api.github.com/repos/{github_username}/{repository_name}"def check_repository_security():
response = requests.get(api_url)
if response.status_code == 200:
repo_data = response.json()
# Check if the repository is public or private
if repo_data[“private”]:
print(“This is a private repository.”)
else:
print(“This is a public repository.”)
# Check for recent activity or commits
if repo_data[“updated_at”]:
print(f”Last updated: {repo_data[‘updated_at’]}”)
else:
print(“No recent activity.”)
# You can add more checks here, such as checking for branch protection, security alerts, etc.
else:
print(f”Unable to retrieve repository information. Status code: {response.status_code}”)if __name__ == “__main__”:
check_repository_security()
Conclusion
The discovery of this vulnerability in GitHub highlights the importance of maintaining good security practices when using open-source software. While GitHub has taken steps to mitigate the risk of RepoJacking attacks, it is still important for users to be vigilant and periodically inspect their code for any signs of malicious activity. By doing so, users can help to ensure that their repositories remain secure and free from malicious code.
