CVE-2026-55701: opentelemetry-collector-contrib Githubreceiver Silently Ignores Configured Required_headers Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2026-55701 is a MODERATE githubreceiver silently ignores configured required_headers vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting opentelemetry-collector-contrib libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves githubreceiver silently ignores configured required_headers authentication. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.151.0.
CVE-2026-55701 at a Glance
How to Fix CVE-2026-55701
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected opentelemetry-collector-contrib dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Upgrade github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/receiver/githubreceiver to 0.151.0Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
inspect dependencies for github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/receiver/githubreceiverHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-55701, inspect your project dependencies for opentelemetry-collector-contrib:
inspect dependencies for github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/receiver/githubreceiverAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of opentelemetry-collector-contrib in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.151.0), your application is affected.
Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization, where the product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. In opentelemetry-collector-contrib, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
CVE-2026-55701 Affected opentelemetry-collector-contrib Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/receiver/githubreceiver
|
Go |
< 0.151.0
|
0.151.0
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-55701?
Which opentelemetry-collector-contrib versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-55701?
Is github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/receiver/githubreceiver affected?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-55701?
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2026-55701?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-w5cv-pw74-4rxc",
"modified" : "2026-06-18T15:05:14Z",
"published" : "2026-06-18T15:05:14Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-55701" ],
"summary" : "opentelemetry-collector-contrib: githubreceiver silently ignores configured required_headers authentication",
"details" : "## githubreceiver Silently Ignores Configured required_headers Authentication\n\n### Summary\n\nThe githubreceiver webhook handler does not enforce the `required_headers` configuration. Headers are validated at startup (config rejects empty keys/values) but never checked on incoming requests. This follows the same pattern as [GHSA-prf6-xjxh-p698](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/security/advisories/GHSA-prf6-xjxh-p698) (awsfirehosereceiver auth bypass). Verified against current main.\n\n### Details\n\nIn `receiver/githubreceiver/config.go`, the `RequiredHeaders` field is defined (line 45) and validated at startup (lines 93-101). But `receiver/githubreceiver/trace_receiver.go` in `handleReq()` (lines 131-185) never references `RequiredHeaders`.\n\nThe gitlabreceiver enforces the same config correctly at `receiver/gitlabreceiver/traces_receiver.go:266-270`:\n\n for key, value := range gtr.cfg.WebHook.RequiredHeaders {\n if r.Header.Get(key) != string(value) {\n return \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"%w: %s\", errInvalidHeader, key)\n }\n }\n\n### Amplifying factor\n\nThe `Secret` field defaults to empty and has no validation requiring it to be set. With an empty secret, `github.ValidatePayload` skips HMAC validation entirely. An operator who configures `required_headers` as their authentication mechanism (without setting `secret`) has zero authentication on the webhook endpoint.\n\n### Impact\n\nAn attacker can send arbitrary webhook payloads to the githubreceiver endpoint, bypassing the operator configured authentication. This allows injecting fake CI/CD trace data into the observability pipeline.\n\n### Suggested Fix\n\nAdd RequiredHeaders enforcement to `handleReq()`, matching the gitlabreceiver pattern.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V4",
"score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/receiver/githubreceiver"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "0.151.0"
} ]
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 0.150.0"
}
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/security/advisories/GHSA-w5cv-pw74-4rxc"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-863" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2026-06-18T15:05:14Z",
"nvd_published_at" : null
}
}