Source URL: https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/08/17/056242/github-actions-artifacts-leak-tokens-expose-cloud-services-and-repositories?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
Source: Slashdot
Title: ‘GitHub Actions’ Artifacts Leak Tokens, Expose Cloud Services and Repositories
Feedly Summary:
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses a serious security concern regarding CI/CD workflows using GitHub Actions, revealing how artifacts created during the build process can inadvertently leak sensitive tokens for third-party services. The issue is emphasized by Palo Alto Networks, pointing out how misconfigurations and security flaws could lead to unauthorized access and exploitation of repositories. The addition of a proof-of-concept custom action to prevent token leaks is highlighted as a proactive measure.
Detailed Description:
The article by Palo Alto Networks highlights a critical vulnerability associated with GitHub Actions and CI/CD workflows. Key points include:
– **Artifact Leakage**: CI/CD workflows often generate artifacts which can unintentionally expose sensitive tokens linked to cloud services, thereby jeopardizing repository security.
– **Misconfiguration Risks**: The combination of insecure configurations and existing security defects allows anyone with read access to a repository to misuse these leaked tokens. Threat actors could push malicious code or extract secrets.
– **Super-Linter Concerns**: The Super-Linter log files were initially found to expose sensitive tokens because environmental variables were printed to the logs. Although updates have been made to prevent this, risks remain.
– **Real-World Impacts**: The issue previously compromised projects maintained by recognized organizations like Google, Microsoft, and AWS, showcasing the widespread nature of the problem.
– **Proof of Concept (PoC)**: Avital developed a custom action using the @actions/artifact package to safeguard against such leaks by employing an open-source scanner to audit source directories for secrets before allowing artifact uploads.
– **Reevaluation Needed**: With GitHub’s pending deprecation of Artifacts V3, organizations need to reassess their artifact management strategies to avoid unintentional security breaches.
– **Recommendations for Security**:
– Reduce workflow permissions of runner tokens following the principle of least privilege.
– Thoroughly review artifact creation within CI/CD pipelines.
– Adopt a comprehensive security approach, scrutinizing all stages from code development to production.
Overall, the blog underscores the importance of addressing overlooked vulnerabilities in build artifacts and promotes a proactive and vigilant security posture among developers and security professionals.
The article concludes by mentioning protective measures proposed by Palo Alto Networks to mitigate these risks effectively.