GitHub CLI partially discloses authentication tokens in gh auth status output

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

3.3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2026-64652: 0.15% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 4.68 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary A security vulnerability has been identified in GitHub CLI where gh auth status could potentially print a portion of the authentication token in plaintext, depending on the lexical structure of the token. Affected users: - Authenticated users who ran gh auth status (without the --show-token flag) with a token type whose format contains an underscore after the prefix. This includes fine-grained personal access tokens (githubpat) and GitHub App installation/user access tokens (ghs, ghu, e.g., ghs<APPID<JWT), including the Actions GITHUBTOKEN. Classic tokens such as gho and ghp have an underscore-free body and are not affected. Details The vulnerability stems from the way GitHub CLI masks the authentication token when reporting authentication state: 1. A user runs gh auth status without --show-token, expecting the token to be fully masked. 2. The masking logic redacts only the characters that follow the last underscore in the token, instead of redacting everything after the…

Published by the source

15 Oct 2026, 18:05 UTC

Last modified by the source

19 Oct 2026, 21:31 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:32 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-cg6r-mpgc-h9mm

2. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Amended from osv record GO-2026-6766

3. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-cg6r-mpgc-h9mm

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-64652

Advisory: GitHub CLI partially discloses authentication tokens in `gh auth status` output
IDs: CVE-2026-64652, GHSA-cg6r-mpgc-h9mm
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-64652 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:32 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Low (CVSS 3.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Partial vendor fix; fixed versions by package: github.com/cli/cli/v2 2.97.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/cli/cli/v2: affected < 2.97.0; fixed in 2.97.0
- Go github.com/cli/cli: affected every version

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/cli/cli/v2: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Go github.com/cli/cli: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/cli/cli/v2, github.com/cli/cli.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GO-2026-6766 (OSV record GO-2026-6766 lists affected ranges: Go github.com/cli/cli >=0; Go github.com/cli/cli/v2 >=0 <2.97.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-cg6r-mpgc-h9mm (OSV record GHSA-cg6r-mpgc-h9mm lists affected ranges: Go github.com/cli/cli/v2 >=0 <2.97.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cg6r-mpgc-h9mm (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-cg6r-mpgc-h9mm lists affected ranges: Go github.com/cli/cli/v2 >=0 <2.97.0)

Commands are suggestions: review each one before running it.