ST-2026-169 · Authentication & identity
GitHub Actions holds potentially malicious public-repository workflows for approval
GitHub Actions now holds certain potentially malicious workflow runs in public repositories on github.com before execution until a collaborator with write access approves the run through an authenticated web session.
Previous state
Potentially malicious workflow runs in the stated public-repository scope were not automatically held under this protection before execution.
Current state
GitHub automatically holds identified potentially malicious workflow runs before execution and requires authenticated approval from a repository collaborator with write access.
Affected users
Who needs to care
Public repositories on github.com whose GitHub Actions runs are identified by GitHub as potentially malicious.
Required response
What to do
Account for held runs in CI operations and ensure an authorised collaborator can review and approve a legitimate held run through an authenticated web session.
Evidence boundary
What the source does not prove
The protection is scoped to public repositories on github.com and certain identified runs; GitHub Enterprise Server is explicitly excluded at the event date.
Lifecycle history
Dated event sequence
- Potentially malicious workflow hold introduced
GitHub began applying the protection automatically to the stated public-repository scope.
Evidence ledger
First-party sources
- 01GitHub — GitHub Actions holds potentially malicious workflows for approval
Official GitHub Changelog · 2026-07-28
Open official source ↗