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HIGH

CVE-2023-27581

CVSS v3

8.8

HIGH

EPSS Score

1.6 %

exploit probability, as of 2026-10-19

CISA KEV

No

known exploited

Exploitation

—

SSVC status

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Affected and fixed versions

Neither OSV.dev nor the vendor advisories we read list affected versions for CVE-2023-27581 yet.

Full record on NVD

Description

github-slug-action is a GitHub Action to expose slug value of GitHub environment variables inside of one's GitHub workflow. Starting in version 4.0.0` and prior to version 4.4.1, this action uses the `github.head_ref` parameter in an insecure way. This vulnerability can be triggered by any user on GitHub on any workflow using the action on pull requests. They just need to create a pull request with a branch name, which can contain the attack payload. This can be used to execute code on the GitHub runners and to exfiltrate any secrets one uses in the CI pipeline. A patched action is available in version 4.4.1. No workaround is available.

Technical details

Published
2023-03-13

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-27581?

github-slug-action is a GitHub Action to expose slug value of GitHub environment variables inside of one's GitHub workflow. Starting in version 4.0.0` and prior to version 4.4.1, this action uses the `github.head_ref` parameter in an insecure way. This vulnerability can be triggered by any user on GitHub on any workflow using the action on pull requests. They just need to create a pull request with a branch name, which can contain the attack payload. This can be used to execute code on the GitHub runners and to exfiltrate any secrets one uses in the CI pipeline. A patched action is available in version 4.4.1. No workaround is available.

Is CVE-2023-27581 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-27581 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.6% on 2026-10-19, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-27581?

CVE-2023-27581 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (HIGH severity).

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