> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/appsec-rules/ci-cd-security/identity-access-management/appsec-cicd-185.md).

# Any organization member can create private repositories

## Rule Details

|                       |                   |
| --------------------- | ----------------- |
| Cortex AppSec Rule ID | APPSEC\_CICD\_185 |
| Category              | IAM               |
| Severity              | LOW               |

## Impact

All members of an organization have privileges to create private repositories. If a member's account or access token is compromised, a malicious actor could create such a repository and access all of the organization's secrets scoped to private and internal repositories. For example, if the scope of a GitHub organization secret is not limited to specific repositories, any member of the organization can create an private repository and configure a GitHub Actions workflow to retrieve the secret.

## Recommended Solution - Buildtime

Disable the excessive permissions granted to all organization members to create private repositories.

To disable internal repository creation refer to <https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/organizations/managing-organization-settings/restricting-repository-creation-in-your-organization>.

If the above mitigation is not possible, or in addition to it, it’s important to scope organization secrets to specific repositories and grant permission on a need-to-access basis only, following the principle of least privileges.

To change the scope of a GitHub organization secret:

1. Browse to the **Settings** tab of your GitHub organization’s repository where the secret is located.
2. Click on the **Secrets** menu located in the left-hand side of the page.
3. Select the required secret and click on its name to open the details page.
4. Click on the **Edit** button on the top right-hand corner of the page.
5. Under **Repository access**, select the repositories that should have access to the secret.
6. Click on the **Update secret** button to save the changes.

   ```
   For more information refer to https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/actions/security-guides/encrypted-secrets#creating-encrypted-secrets-for-an-organization.
   ```


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