GitHub Activity on a Private Repository from an Unusual ASN

Last updated a month ago on 2026-10-07
Created a year ago on 2025-12-16

About

Detects when a GitHub user pushes to or clones a private repository from an autonomous system (ASN) not previously seen for that user in the last 7 days. The source IP is resolved to its ASN at query time, so address churn inside the same ISP or cloud provider does not produce new alerts. Adversaries may access private repositories from unfamiliar ASNs to exfiltrate sensitive code or data, potentially indicating a compromise or unauthorized access.
Tags
Domain: CloudUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: ImpactTactic: Initial AccessTactic: PersistenceData Source: GithubData Source: GitHub Audit LogsNoise: HighPerformance: FastProfile: AggressiveThreat: Supply ChainRule Type: ES|QLPlatform: GitHubDomain: SaaSLanguage: esql
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Impact (TA0040)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Initial Access (TA0001)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Execution (TA0002)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Collection (TA0009)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples
Developers travelling or switching between home, mobile and corporate networks will appear from a new ASN the first time each is used. CI runners and cloud build services appear once per cloud provider ASN; add exceptions for known automation identities if the volume is high.
License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Related Integrations

github(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
FROM logs-github.audit-* | WHERE event.dataset == "github.audit" AND event.action IN ("git.push", "git.clone") AND github.repository_public == false AND user.name IS NOT NULL AND github.actor_ip IS NOT NULL | IP_LOCATION asn = github.actor_ip WITH { "database_file": "GeoLite2-ASN.mmdb", "properties": ["asn", "organization_name"] } | IP_LOCATION geo = github.actor_ip WITH { "properties": ["country_iso_code"] } | WHERE asn.asn IS NOT NULL | STATS Esql.event_count = COUNT(*), Esql.first_seen = MIN(@timestamp), Esql.last_seen = MAX(@timestamp), Esql.ip_count = COUNT_DISTINCT(github.actor_ip), Esql.ip_values = VALUES(github.actor_ip), Esql.repo_values = VALUES(github.repo), Esql.event_action_values = VALUES(event.action), Esql.country_values = VALUES(geo.country_iso_code), Esql.user_agent_values = VALUES(github.user_agent) BY user.name, asn.asn, asn.organization_name // The 7-day history is the rule look-back (from = now-10085m). A user/ASN pair is new when its first // event falls inside the current interval; the 10m bound allows for the 5m interval plus scheduling drift. | WHERE DATE_DIFF("minute", Esql.first_seen, NOW()) <= 10 | EVAL Esql.source_as_number = asn.asn, Esql.source_as_organization_name = asn.organization_name | KEEP user.name, Esql.*

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect GitHub Activity on a Private Repository from an Unusual ASN in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(external, opens in a new tab or window).