CVE-2022-29220

No verification of commits origin in github-action-merge-dependabot

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS Score
Published: May 31, 2022 at 04:10 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 04:39 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorGitHub Action Merge Dependabot

Using github-action-merge-dependabot by fastify?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect github-action-merge-dependabot - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
MEDIUM6.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.5%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

github-action-merge-dependabot is an action that automatically approves and merges dependabot pull requests (PRs). Prior to version 3.2.0, github-action-merge-dependabot does not check if a commit created by dependabot is verified with the proper GPG key. There is just a check if the actor is set to `dependabot[bot]` to determine if the PR is a legit PR. Theoretically, an owner of a seemingly valid and legit action in the pipeline can check if the PR is created by dependabot and if their own action has enough permissions to modify the PR in the pipeline. If so, they can modify the PR by adding a second seemingly valid and legit commit to the PR, as they can set arbitrarily the username and email in for commits in git. Because the bot only checks if the actor is valid, it would pass the malicious changes through and merge the PR automatically, without getting noticed by project maintainers. It would probably not be possible to determine where the malicious commit came from, as it would only say `dependabot[bot]` and the corresponding email-address. Version 3.2.0 contains a patch for this issue.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 3.2.0
Affected range stops below 3.2.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

6.5MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-283CWE-345

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card