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Workflow "Claude Code" can be triggered by any GitHub user commenting "@claude" #4795
Description
Description
The claude job in .github/workflows/claude.yml (lines 15-19) is triggered
solely by a comment/issue containing the substring @claude, with no check on
who wrote it:
if: |
(github.event_name == 'issue_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@claude')) ||
(github.event_name == 'pull_request_review_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@claude')) ||
(github.event_name == 'pull_request_review' && contains(github.event.review.body, '@claude')) ||
(github.event_name == 'issues' && (contains(github.event.issue.body, '@claude') || contains(github.event.issue.title, '@claude')))Any GitHub user can therefore start the job by commenting @claude ... on an
issue, PR, or review. The job then runs with:
secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY(line 37) — the API key is exposed to the run--allowedTools "Bash,mcp__mcp-docs,WebFetch"(line 48) — the agent gets a
shell on the runnerpermissions: id-token: write(line 25) — OIDC token mintingactions: read(line 26), plus the third-party
anthropics/claude-code-action@v1pinned to a mutable tag
Because the triggering comment's text flows into the LLM agent's context, this
is the classic "prompt injection into a privileged CI agent" surface: an
untrusted commenter can spend the project's API quota on arbitrary agent runs,
and malicious instructions in the comment can steer an agent that holds Bash
access, the API key, and OIDC capabilities.
Trigger scenario
- Anyone opens an issue, comments on an issue/PR, or submits a PR review and
includes@claudeplus arbitrary instructions in the text. - The workflow runs on
ubuntu-latestwith the permissions above, regardless
of the commenter's role (noauthor_associationcheck). - The comment text is processed by the agent with Bash access.
Impact
- Unauthorized use of the
ANTHROPIC_API_KEYon agent runs (billable). - Prompt-injection-driven actions within the runner's permissions (repository
contents read, PR/issue read, OIDC token, actions metadata). - Abuse of repository CI resources.
Suggested fix
Gate the job on trusted actors, e.g.:
if: |
(github.event_name == 'issue_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@claude') && contains(fromJSON('["OWNER","MEMBER","COLLABORATOR"]'), github.event.comment.author_association)) ||
...Additionally: restrict the tools exposed to externally-triggered runs (or drop
Bash), remove id-token: write if it is not actually used, and pin
anthropics/claude-code-action to a full commit SHA.
I'd be happy to open a PR implementing the author_association gate (and any
of the other hardening bits) if that's welcome. Thanks for maintaining the
reference servers!
Activity
[-]Workflow "Claude Code" can be triggered by any GitHub user commenting "@claude"[/-][+]Workflow "Claude Code" can be triggered by any GitHub user commenting "@claude"[/+]cliffhall commentedon Oct 19, 2026
Triage: Priority Medium (total 7)
This is a security report, so it is handled by the maintainers and the details aren't discussed here. If you have more to add, please use the advisory form rather than this thread.
Board: Servers V2 (#43), Status
Incoming, awaiting maintainer review (no milestone yet). Part of the backlog triage in #4875.