GitHub Adds Suspicious Actions Holds and npm Publish-Time Malware Gating

GitHub rolled out new supply-chain protections across GitHub Actions and npm to curb attacks that abuse CI/CD workflows and malicious package publishing. On public repositories hosted on GitHub.com, workflow runs that GitHub flags as suspicious are now automatically paused until a repository collaborator with write access approves them through an authenticated web session. The safeguard is enabled by default and is aimed at attacks involving compromised GitHub credentials, malicious workflow files, and workflow-based secret theft or package tampering, though GitHub has not disclosed detection logic and said the control does not guarantee every malicious run will be caught.

GitHub also introduced publish-time malware scanning for npm packages, shifting enforcement from scanning after publication to gating releases before they become available. Under the new process, a package can be published, held for review, or blocked based on scan results, alongside new dual-use metadata requirements such as contentPolicy and DISCLOSURE. The changes build on GitHub’s broader response to open-source supply-chain attacks, including guidance to pin third-party Actions to full commit SHAs, avoid unsafe pull_request_target usage, use OpenID Connect for secretless authentication, and rely on trusted publishing across ecosystems including npm, PyPI, NuGet, RubyGems, and Crates.