CVE-2026-6736
Published: 07 May 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-6736 is a medium-severity Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability in Github Enterprise Server. Its CVSS base score is 6.3 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 47.7th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-28461
Vulnerability details
An authentication bypass vulnerability was identified in GitHub Enterprise Server that allowed an unauthenticated attacker to create a local user account, bypassing the configured external identity provider. When external authentication was enabled, the signup endpoint did not properly enforce the…
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authentication restriction, allowing account creation and session establishment without identity provider validation. The created account was limited to the default base permissions configured on the instance. Exploitation required network access to a GHES instance configured with an external authentication provider. This vulnerability affected all versions of GitHub Enterprise Server prior to 3.21 and was fixed in versions 3.20.2, 3.19.6, 3.18.9, 3.17.15, and 3.16.18.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Auth bypass on public-facing GHES signup endpoint directly enables exploitation of the app (T1190) to create a local account (T1136.001) without external IdP validation.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Requires established identification and authentication to unlock, mitigating missing authentication for continued system access.
Requiring identification and rationale for actions allowed without authentication ensures critical functions are not left unprotected by forcing review of authentication requirements.
Authorizing mobile device connections to organizational systems ensures authentication is performed for this critical access function.
Guarantees critical functions are protected by mandatory invocation of the access control mechanism.
Auditing sessions makes it possible to detect access to critical functions without required authentication.
The assessment process confirms authentication is present and effective for critical functions, preventing exploitation from missing authentication.
Certification assesses that critical functions have required authentication controls in place.
Disabling non-essential functions and services eliminates the need to secure them, reducing exposure from missing authentication on unnecessary components.