Auth bypass in Renovatebot Renovate

CVE-2026-88884

Renovate is a dependency update automation tool. In versions before 44.3.1 (and Mend Renovate CE/EE images before 15.4.0, mend-renovate-ce Helm chart before 15.4.0, mend-renovate-enterprise-edition Helm chart before 10.4.0), digest updates are not subject to the internal `minimumReleaseAge` (stability age) checks. When a repository configures `minimumReleaseAge` and has dependencies with `updateType=digest` — for example GitHub Actions pinned to a commit SHA with a floating tag, Docker images, Go modules or NuGet packages — Renovate will still open a pull request for a newly published digest, marked only with a pending `renovate/stability-days` status check. A newly published, potentially malicious dependency version can therefore cause a PR to be raised and CI workflows to potentially run before the configured minimum release age has elapsed, which is precisely what the Minimum Release Age control is intended to prevent. The issue is fixed in Renovate 44.3.1; as a workaround, digest updates can be disabled or gated behind `dependencyDashboardApproval`.

Vulnerability class: Broken Access Control

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.8 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-88884?
CVE-2026-88884 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Renovatebot Renovate, classified under Incorrect Authorization. CVSS score: 5.8/10. Published 2026-09-10.
How severe is CVE-2026-88884?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.8 out of 10.