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Add Dependabot permissions warnings - #37733

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Add Dependabot permissions warnings#37733
Marcono1234 wants to merge 1 commit into
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Marcono1234:dependabot-permissions-warning

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@Marcono1234

@Marcono1234 Marcono1234 commented Apr 23, 2025

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Why:

Dependabot intentionally has no built-in automerge feature (dependabot/dependabot-core#1973 (comment)), and in the past permissions for Dependabot workflows were changed to read-only by default (changelog entry).

If I understand it correctly, the concern is that a Dependabot workflow with write permissions could be exploited by a compromised dependency to immediately compromise the consuming repository as soon as the Dependabot PR is created, without any interaction of the owner.

Therefore adding a custom automerge workflow for Dependabot or giving its workflows write permissions can be a security risk, and is probably worth pointing out in the documentation.

Slightly related to #37657, but does not resolve it

What's being changed (if available, include any code snippets, screenshots, or gifs):

Add warnings to the documentation to inform users about the risk of giving Dependabot workflows more permissions.

I hope these warnings do not seem like fear mongering (any feedback regarding wording is welcome!). Maybe some users who set up auto merging of Dependabot PRs might not consider this a big issue (or an issue at all).

Check off the following:

  • A subject matter expert (SME) has reviewed the technical accuracy of the content in this PR. In most cases, the author can be the SME. Open source contributions may require an SME review from GitHub staff.
  • The changes in this PR meet the docs fundamentals that are required for all content.
  • All CI checks are passing and the changes look good in the review environment.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the triage Do not begin working on this issue until triaged by the team label Apr 23, 2025
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Source Review Production What Changed
code-security/dependabot/troubleshooting-dependabot/troubleshooting-dependabot-on-github-actions.md fpt
ghec
ghes@ 3.16 3.15 3.14 3.13 3.12
fpt
ghec
ghes@ 3.16 3.15 3.14 3.13 3.12
code-security/dependabot/working-with-dependabot/automating-dependabot-with-github-actions.md fpt
ghec
ghes@ 3.16 3.15 3.14 3.13 3.12
fpt
ghec
ghes@ 3.16 3.15 3.14 3.13 3.12

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@Marcono1234

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Please let me know if I am misunderstanding the security risk here, or if you would like the warnings to be changed.

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@Sharra-writes

Sharra-writes commented Apr 23, 2025

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@Marcono1234 Thanks for opening these! I'll get this triaged and look for an SME to review the specifics. We appreciate the time you're investing to improve the documentation. 💛

@Sharra-writes Sharra-writes added content This issue or pull request belongs to the Docs Content team dependabot Content related to Dependabot needs SME This proposal needs review from a subject matter expert and removed triage Do not begin working on this issue until triaged by the team labels Apr 23, 2025
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Thanks for opening a pull request! We've triaged this issue for technical review by a subject matter expert 👀

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This is a gentle bump for the docs team that this PR is waiting for technical review.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the SME stale The request for an SME has staled label May 29, 2025
@Sharra-writes Sharra-writes removed the SME stale The request for an SME has staled label May 29, 2025
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This is a gentle bump for the docs team that this PR is waiting for technical review.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the SME stale The request for an SME has staled label Jun 29, 2025
@Sharra-writes Sharra-writes removed the SME stale The request for an SME has staled label Jun 30, 2025
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This is a gentle reminder for the docs team that this PR is waiting for technical review by a subject matter expert.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the Waiting on SME review The request for a technical review by a subject matter expert has stalled. label Jul 30, 2025
@Sharra-writes Sharra-writes removed the Waiting on SME review The request for a technical review by a subject matter expert has stalled. label Jul 30, 2025
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github-actions Bot commented Sep 2, 2025

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A stale label has been added to this pull request because it has been open 30 days with no activity. If you think this pull request should remain open, please add a new comment.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the Inactive Will be closed automatically by a stall check if no activity is detected. label Sep 2, 2025
@Sharra-writes Sharra-writes added never-stale Do not close as stale and removed Inactive Will be closed automatically by a stall check if no activity is detected. labels Sep 2, 2025
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This is a gentle reminder for the docs team that this PR is waiting for technical review by a subject matter expert.

@github-actions github-actions Bot added the Waiting on SME review The request for a technical review by a subject matter expert has stalled. label Oct 15, 2025
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subatoi commented Aug 20, 2026

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Hi @Marcono1234, thank you for raising this and I apologise for such a late conclusion—

I've passed this on to the Dependabot team, but we're not going to make any updates to the documentation to this effect at this time. I would recommend opening a new discussion in our community, as that would give us a better idea how many users would benefit from updates such as this.

Again, please accept my apologies for the late conclusion and for the fact that this won't be the update you were hoping for. We hope to see you again 🙇

@subatoi subatoi closed this Aug 20, 2026
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Marcono1234 deleted the dependabot-permissions-warning branch August 20, 2026 21:23
@Marcono1234

Marcono1234 commented Aug 20, 2026

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Thanks for the update!

The recently added default cooldown might have reduced the risk of this a bit, but I still think the proposed warnings might be useful, maybe at least as "Note".

I suspect a discussion would not be really helpful; to me this seems like a niche topic for which not many users would actively search (unless they are already aware of the problematic effects).

Anyway, I can understand if you don't want to or don't have the capacity currently for these changes.

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