GitHub Access Control Management Best Practices
Blog Article by Entro Security
Think of GitHub as the bustling virtual coffee shop of software development, frequented by around 100 million developers globally. It’s where ideas are brewed and code is shared. But just like you wouldn’t want to share your perfectly iced and shaken vanilla oat milk espresso, you don’t want just anyone poking around your code repositories. GitHub is more than just a code hosting platform; it’s the backbone of collaboration in software development that allows teams to work together on projects of all sizes. GitHub permissions management is like setting up a VIP list for your code’s most valuable assets.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the best practices for managing GitHub access permissions. This will ensure that you don’t let unauthorized guests in and keep your project’s collaborative space secure.
Understanding GitHub’s authorization/permission model
The GitHub authorization/permission model is designed to balance flexibility and security across various types of accounts—personal, organizational, and enterprise. Learning this model is crucial for effective access management and ensuring your repositories remain secure.
Personal accounts: Basic roles
For personal GitHub accounts, the permission structure is relatively succinct:
Owner: The repository owner has comprehensive control. It includes performing critical actions such as archiving or deleting the repository and managing collaborator access.
Collaborator: Collaborators with collaborator permissions have read/write access to the repository’s content. They can manage issues, merge pull requests, and create releases, but their access is limited compared to that of the owner.
Organization Accounts: Detailed control
In GitHub organizations, the model becomes more nuanced, that allows detailed management of access through roles and teams:
Owner: An organization owner has full control over all aspects of the organization, including its repositories and user management. Multiple owners are advisable to ensure continuity and security.
Member: Members receive default access to repositories and projects, with permissions that can be tailored to specific needs.
Moderator: Moderators possess additional permissions to manage interactions within repositories, such as blocking disruptive users and moderating comments.
Billing Manager: This role manages the organization’s billing settings, including subscription plans and payment details.
GitHub App Manager: This role manages GitHub Apps registered by the organization, with permissions that extend beyond those of a basic member.
Outside Collaborator: Outside collaborators have restricted access to specific repositories, which are controlled at the repository level.
Enterprise accounts: Advanced integration
For larger organizations that use GitHub Enterprise, the model extends further with advanced integration capabilities:
Integration with IAM systems: GitHub Enterprise accounts can integrate with identity providers and single sign-on (SSO) systems, allowing for centralized user access across the organization. This integration streamlines user provisioning and supports effective identity lifecycle management by automating user access management from onboarding through to de-provisioning.
Repository-level roles: Granular permissions
Within GitHub organizations, roles at the repository level allow for precise control over access:
Read: Provides read-only access to repository content and associated resources like issues and pull requests.
Triage: Offers additional repository permissions to manage issues and pull requests more proactively.
Write: Grants permissions to modify repository content, which include merging pull requests and creating releases.
Maintain: Allows broad access to the repository, excluding high-risk actions like deleting the repository.
Admin: Confers full control over the repository, including altering security settings and performing destructive actions.
Key strengths GitHub’s permission model you must know
GitHub’s permission model is robust and comes with several strengths that make it suitable for various types of organizations:
Granular Control - GitHub allows you to assign specific roles and permissions at various levels, from individual repositories to entire organizations. This granularity ensures that users have the right access to perform their tasks without compromising security.
Scalability - Whether you’re managing a small team or a large enterprise, GitHub’s permission model scales well. As your organization grows, you can easily add new members and adjust their permissions without revamping your entire access management system.
Integration with IAM systems - For those using GitHub Enterprise, integrating with IAM systems provides a seamless way to manage user access. You can automate user provisioning, manage team memberships, and enforce security policies across your organization by linking your GitHub account with an IAM system. Going a step further, GitHub integrates with Entro to secure all your secrets and non human identities in all Git repositories. More on this in a bit.
Challenges of GitHub’s permission model
Despite its strengths, GitHub’s permission model comes with challenges:
Complexity: The more granular the control, the more complex it becomes. This complexity can lead to misconfigurations, especially in larger organizations.
Human error, such as granting excessive permissions to users or failing to revoke access for former employees, can expose your repositories to security risks.
Mixed roles confusion: When users have conflicting roles, it can be difficult to determine their exact permissions without thorough audits.
Best practices to manage GitHub access, roles, & authorization
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s explore best practices for managing GitHub access effectively.
Implement the principle of least privilege
It involves granting users only the permissions necessary to perform their tasks, thereby reducing the risk of unauthorized access or accidental changes to critical repositories. To maintain this principle effectively, regularly review and audit user roles and permissions to ensure they align with current responsibilities by utilizing GitHub’s “Manage access” feature. Additionally, use teams for permissions rather than assigning them individually; this approach simplifies management and ensures consistent permission assignments across your organization.
Automate access management with IAM systems
Integrating identity access management systems like Okta or Azure AD with GitHub Enterprise can simplify access management as it automates the provisioning and de-provisioning of user accounts based on their organizational roles. By synchronizing GitHub teams with IAM groups, you can ensure that permissions are automatically updated as users join or leave teams, minimizing the risk of orphaned accounts. Leveraging SAML for single sign-on (SSO) and SCIM for automated provisioning further enhances this process, by ensuring access rights are granted and revoked in real-time.
Establish clear access control policies
Establishing clear access control policies is essential to maintain security and compliance within your organization. These policies should clearly outline who has access to what resources, under which conditions, and the procedures for granting or revoking access. Define roles and responsibilities precisely, and ensure that these definitions are well-documented and communicated to all team members. Additionally, just-in-time privileged access for sensitive repositories, where permissions are granted only when needed and automatically revoked afterward, should be implemented to minimize unnecessary exposure and enhance security.
Regularly audit access logs
Regular audits of access logs are essential for effective access control, as they help identify unauthorized access attempts and unusual activity. GitHub Enterprise supports this by enabling audit logging, which records user actions such as sign-ins, permission changes, and repository access. By analyzing these logs, you can detect access patterns and spot anomalies that might signal a potential security breach.
Remove access for terminated employees immediately
One of the most critical security measures is promptly removing access for terminated employees to prevent unauthorized actions. To simplify this process, configure your IAM system to revoke access automatically when an employee leaves. However, don’t rely solely on automation; perform manual checks to ensure access has been fully removed from all repositories and systems, closing any potential security gaps. This also applies to non-human identities and secrets that are stored in vaults.
Why secrets management and non-human identities matter?
Non-human identities—like service accounts, bots, and automated processes—often need access to your repositories and rely on secrets such as API keys and tokens. Effective management of these secrets is crucial to prevent unauthorized access and potential breaches. Efficient secrets management involves securely handling, rotating, and managing these secrets. This is where Entro’s features come into play: it enhances non-human identity management by providing context enrichment for a better understanding of secrets and least privilege controls to prevent non-human identity attacks. This also minimizes the risk of over-provisioning.