CVE-2026-53508
Summary
From v1.13.2 through v1.18.0, oasdiff did not enforce --allow-external-refs=false (library: openapi3.Loader.IsExternalRefsAllowed = false) when loading a spec from a git revision (the rev:path form, e.g. main:openapi.yaml). External $refs were resolved on that load path even when external refs were explicitly disabled, so the mitigation silently did not apply there.
Impact
A caller who set --allow-external-refs=false *specifically to safely process untrusted specs* remained exposed — on the git-revision load path only — to:
- SSRF via $ref: "http://<internal-host>/…", and
- Local file reads via $ref: "/path" or file://.
Affected callers:
- CLI: oasdiff diff main:openapi.yaml HEAD:openapi.yaml --allow-external-refs=false (and breaking / changelog / summary, and the git-diff-driver) run over untrusted spec content.
- Go library consumers of github.com/oasdiff/oasdiff/load that set IsExternalRefsAllowed = false and load from a git-revision source via load.NewSpecInfo.
The file and URL load paths correctly enforced the setting; only the git-revision path was affected. Callers that left external refs at the default (true) are not in scope for *this* advisory.
Patches
v1.18.1 enforces the external-refs policy on the git-revision path (so --allow-external-refs=false now blocks external $refs there) and returns a dedicated exit code (123) when an external $ref is refused.
Workarounds
- Upgrade to v1.18.1, or
- Avoid the git-revision input form when processing untrusted specs with external refs disabled.
Notes
- Introduced in v1.13.2 (#832, which added $ref-chain resolution on the git-revision path); fixed in v1.18.1 (#974, #975).
- The permissive default (allow-external-refs: true) and its zero-interaction exposure in CI via the GitHub Action is tracked separately in GHSA-fhj3-7267-7vv5 (oasdiff-action).
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Advisory coverage (1)
External references
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