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Add Dependabot permissions warnings #37733

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@Marcono1234 Marcono1234 commented Apr 23, 2025

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

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.

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@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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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 commented Apr 23, 2025

@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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