CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-32638 — Github Codeql Action security vulnerability

Medium CVSS 4.4

Github's CodeQL action is provided to run CodeQL-based code scanning on non-GitHub CI/CD systems and requires a GitHub access token to connect to a GitHub repository. The runner and its documentation previously suggested passing the GitHub token as a command-line parameter to the process instead of reading it from a file, standard input, or an environment variable. This approach made the token visible to other processes on the same machine, for example in the output of the `ps` command. If the CI system publicly exposes the output of `ps`, for example by logging the output, then the GitHub access token can be exposed beyond the scope intended. Users of the CodeQL runner on 3rd-party systems, who are passing a GitHub token via the `--github-auth` flag, are affected. This applies to both GitHub.com and GitHub Enterprise users. Users of the CodeQL Action on GitHub Actions are not affected. The `--github-auth` flag is now considered insecure and deprecated. The undocumented `--external-repository-token` flag has been removed. To securely provide a GitHub access token to the CodeQL runner, users should **do one of the following instead**: Use the `--github-auth-stdin` flag and pass the…

Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.4 (3.1)
Published
2021-05-25
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-200, CWE-214

Affected products

  • github / codeql_action

Matched remediation archetype

Information disclosure and sensitive data exposure

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace sensitive data through responses, errors, logs, metrics, traces, caches, exports, files, backups, and client bundles.
  • Identify affected subjects, tenants, retention windows, access controls, and downstream copies without opening unnecessary sensitive records.
  • Review metadata, timing, status, length, and existence signals as well as direct content disclosure.

Remediate safely

  • Minimize collection and output, apply field-level authorization and redaction at a centralized boundary, and return generic external errors.
  • Remove secrets and sensitive data from logs, artifacts, URLs, caches, and client-side bundles; rotate credentials that may have been exposed.
  • Update the affected component and add synthetic-data tests for response, error, observability, and export paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.