xygeni-action v5 tag poisoned with C2 backdoor
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-506.
Summary
xygeni-action is the GitHub Action for Xygeni Scanner. On March 3, 2026, an attacker with access to compromised credentials created a series of pull requests (#46, #47, #48) injecting obfuscated shell code into action.yml. The PRs were blocked by branch protection rules and never merged into the main branch. However, the attacker used the compromised GitHub App credentials to move the mutable v5 tag to point at the malicious commit (4bf1d4e19ad81a3e8d4063755ae0f482dd3baf12) from one of the unmerged PRs. This commit remained in the repository's git object store, and any workflow referencing @v5 would fetch and execute it. This is a supply chain compromise via tag poisoning. Any GitHub Actions workflow referencing xygeni/xygeni-action@v5 during the affected window (approximately March 3–10, 2026) executed a C2 implant that granted the attacker arbitrary command execution on the CI runner for up to 180 seconds per workflow run.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xygeni | xygeni-action | >= March 3, 2026, <= March 10, 2026 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | xygeni/xygeni-action (GitHub Actions) | 5 to before 6.4.0 | 6.4.0 | Patch available | GHSA-f8q5-h5qh-33mh |
- xygeni-action Vendorxygeni Affected >= March 3, 2026, <= March 10, 2026 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- xygeni/xygeni-action (GitHub Actions) Vendor— Affected 5 to before 6.4.0 Fixed in 6.4.0 Patch available GHSA-f8q5-h5qh-33mh
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-f8q5-h5qh-33mh xygeni/xygeni-action (GitHub Actions) Fixed in 6.4.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-31976
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-f8q5-h5qh-33mh
- 2026-10-25 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile
References
Sources
- CVE-2026-31976 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-31976 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-f8q5-h5qh-33mh · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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