---
id: "CVE-2026-117646"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-117646"]
title: "GitHub: public-only tokens could list private repository names and metadata"
severity: "medium"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "vendor"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["github", "personal-access-tokens", "vendor"]
not_affected_if: ["no-public-only-tokens", "repository-content-not-exposed"]
published_at: "2026-11-01T10:18:35+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-01T10:49:33+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-01T10:51:31+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-117646", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-01T10:49:33+00:00"}]
---

# GitHub: public-only tokens could list private repository names and metadata

Profile repository, star and watch tabs, and organization repository lists, ignored the public-only restriction on personal access tokens. A token holder could see names and metadata of private repositories visible to the token owner, but not their contents.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Timeline

- 2026-11-01T10:49:33+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-117646

## From the sources

The repositories, stars and watching tabs of user profiles and the repository list of organization home pages included private repositories for every signed-in request without checking whether the request used a personal access token restricted to public resources (`public-only`). A holder of such a token could list the private repositories visible to the token's owner, and that user's stars and watches of private repositories. The API and the profile activity tab already applied the restriction. The impact is disclosure of repository names and metadata, not of repository content.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_