GitHub is under attack by millions of malicious repositories that are trying to exploit a vulnerability in its code scanning feature. The attack, which started on February 28, 2024, has been flooding GitHub with fake repositories that contain malicious code. The attackers are hoping to trick GitHub's code scanning feature into running the code and compromising the servers.
Code scanning is a feature that GitHub introduced in 2020 to help developers find and fix security issues in their code. It uses a variety of tools and scanners to analyze the code and detect vulnerabilities. However, it seems that the feature has a flaw that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on GitHub's servers.
The attackers are creating millions of repositories with names that look like random strings of characters. Each repository contains a file named .github/workflows/main.yml, which is a configuration file for GitHub Actions, a feature that allows developers to automate tasks on GitHub. The file contains a malicious script that tries to run on GitHub's servers when the code scanning feature is triggered.
GitHub has been working to mitigate the attack and block the malicious repositories. However, the attackers are constantly creating new ones, making it hard for GitHub to keep up. GitHub has also been notifying its users about the attack and advising them not to enable code scanning on any repository that they do not trust.
The attack is still ongoing and it is not clear who is behind it or what their motive is. Some security experts have speculated that the attackers may be trying to steal sensitive data from GitHub or cause damage to its infrastructure. Others have suggested that the attack may be a prank or a demonstration of GitHub's vulnerability.
GitHub is one of the most popular platforms for hosting and collaborating on software projects. It has over 100 million users and hosts over 200 million repositories. The attack could have serious consequences for GitHub and its users if it is not stopped soon.
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