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GitHub Actions Runner vulnerable to Docker Command Escaping

Type: advisorySources: OSV

GitHub Actions Runner is the application that runs a job from a GitHub Actions workflow. The actions runner invokes the docker cli directly in order to run job containers, service containers, or container actions. A bug in the logic for how the environment is encoded into these docker commands was discovered in versions prior to 2.296.2, 2.293.1, 2.289.4, 2.285.2, and 2.283.4 that allows an input to escape the environment variable and modify that docker command invocation directly. Jobs that use container actions, job containers, or service containers alongside untrusted user inputs in environment variables may be vulnerable. The Actions Runner has been patched, both on `github.com` and hotfixes for GHES and GHAE customers in versions 2.296.2, 2.293.1, 2.289.4, 2.285.2, and 2.283.4. GHES and GHAE customers may want to patch their instance in order to have their runners automatically upgrade to these new runner versions. As a workaround, users may consider removing any container actions, job containers, or service containers from their jobs until they are able to upgrade their runner versions.

Products
Not specified
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
Not specified
CVEs
CVE-2022-39321
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
3 Nov 2026, 03:58 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

GitHub Actions Runner vulnerable to Docker Command Escaping

core-osv · Original source

Published 25 Oct 2022, 00:00 UTC

GitHub Actions Runner is the application that runs a job from a GitHub Actions workflow. The actions runner invokes the docker cli directly in order to run job containers, service containers, or container actions. A bug in the logic for how the environment is encoded into these docker commands was discovered in versions prior to 2.296.2, 2.293.1, 2.289.4, 2.285.2, and 2.283.4 that allows an input to escape the environment variable and modify that docker command invocation directly. Jobs that use container actions, job containers, or service containers alongside untrusted user inputs in environment variables may be vulnerable. The Actions Runner has been patched, both on `github.com` and hotfixes for GHES and GHAE customers in versions 2.296.2, 2.293.1, 2.289.4, 2.285.2, and 2.283.4. GHES and GHAE customers may want to patch their instance in order to have their runners automatically upgrade to these new runner versions. As a workaround, users may consider removing any container actions, job containers, or service containers from their jobs until they are able to upgrade their runner versions.

osv:CVE-2022-39321
Complete source record
{
  "id": "4980f136ccd5f23e7d5f4fc69ce6fa99ec094d77ad7805570bc53ca711c88c12",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-39321",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "GitHub Actions Runner vulnerable to Docker Command Escaping",
    "summary": "GitHub Actions Runner is the application that runs a job from a GitHub Actions workflow. The actions runner invokes the docker cli directly in order to run job containers, service containers, or container actions. A bug in the logic for how the environment is encoded into these docker commands was discovered in versions prior to 2.296.2, 2.293.1, 2.289.4, 2.285.2, and 2.283.4 that allows an input to escape the environment variable and modify that docker command invocation directly. Jobs that use container actions, job containers, or service containers alongside untrusted user inputs in environment variables may be vulnerable. The Actions Runner has been patched, both on `github.com` and hotfixes for GHES and GHAE customers in versions 2.296.2, 2.293.1, 2.289.4, 2.285.2, and 2.283.4. GHES and GHAE customers may want to patch their instance in order to have their runners automatically upgrade to these new runner versions. As a workaround, users may consider removing any container actions, job containers, or service containers from their jobs until they are able to upgrade their runner versions.",
    "evidence": "osv:CVE-2022-39321",
    "products": [],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "CVE-2022-39321",
      "aliases": [
        "CVE-2022-39321",
        "GHSA-2c6m-6gqh-6qg3"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "repo": "https://github.com/actions/runner",
              "type": "GIT",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "436989949b1b66b7a57bf4f6e6acbc854d329e5e"
                },
                {
                  "introduced": "9027c154d05776c16f6df6c0345bc9ec20440ebe"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "7f6b9e55d60c0d67df28819138b563be4ead83f9"
                },
                {
                  "introduced": "f1ddeb0d06bdbe3182a4f01c44ef622ec0c13437"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "3c64f263211f021532a212db171229415cb0f074"
                },
                {
                  "introduced": "d95bfc5d1f73b82e16c2700d9dad2bd0fb3401ca"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "a78e6e059486e73821fccb510b081aceac64cf86"
                },
                {
                  "introduced": "709bd6113d2fca3a89a0fef11913ce4efd7b8cc5"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "21c30edf1e7a80e041649848ea1d91b885a8762e"
                }
              ],
              "database_specific": {
                "extracted_events": [
                  {
                    "cpe": "cpe:2.3:a:github:runner:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "2.283.4"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "CPE_RANGE"
                  },
                  {
                    "cpe": "cpe:2.3:a:github:runner:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "2.284.0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "2.285.2"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "CPE_RANGE"
                  },
                  {
                    "cpe": "cpe:2.3:a:github:runner:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "2.286.0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "2.289.4"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "CPE_RANGE"
                  },
                  {
                    "cpe": "cpe:2.3:a:github:runner:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "2.290.0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "2.293.1"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "CPE_RANGE"
                  },
                  {
                    "cpe": "cpe:2.3:a:github:runner:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "2.294.0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "2.296.2"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "CPE_RANGE"
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ],
          "versions": [
            "v2.283.3",
            "v2.285.1",
            "v2.289.3",
            "v2.293.0",
            "v2.296.1",
            "v2.296.0",
            "v2.289.2",
            "v2.289.1",
            "v2.289.0",
            "v2.285.0",
            "v2.283.2",
            "v2.283.1",
            "v2.283.0",
            "v2.263.0",
            "v2.262.1",
            "v2.262.0",
            "v2.169.1",
            "v2.169.0",
            "v2.168.0",
            "v2.165.2",
            "v2.165.1",
            "v2.165.0",
            "v2.164.0",
            "v2.163.0",
            "v2.162.0",
            "sample",
            "v2.159.2",
            "v2.159.1",
            "v2.159.0"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2022-39321.json"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T02:30:25.908387308Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2022/39xxx/CVE-2022-39321.json",
        "https://github.com/actions/runner/security/advisories/GHSA-2c6m-6gqh-6qg3",
        "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39321",
        "https://github.com/actions/runner/pull/2107",
        "https://github.com/actions/runner/pull/2108"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cwe_ids": [
          "CWE-78"
        ],
        "cna_assigner": "GitHub_M",
        "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2022/39xxx/CVE-2022-39321.json"
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2022-39321",
        "evidence": "/id"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 492316,
  "published_at": "2022-10-25T00:00:00+00:00"
}