CIS.GH.1.2.4: Ensure issue deletion is limited to specific users


ID	`CIS.GH.1.2.4`
Severity	Medium
Suite	CIS Microsoft 365 Foundations Benchmark
Product	GitHub
Feature	Organization settings
Security area	Access control
Resource type	Tenant
User impact of fixing	Low
Effort to fix	Low
Benchmark	CIS GitHub Benchmark 1.2.0, `1.2.4` (L1, GH Level 1)
Framework controls	`cis-github:1.2.4` `nist-800-53-r5:AC-6` Least Privilege
MITRE ATT&CK	T1070, T1485
Reads from	GitHub

What this checks and how to fix it

1.2.4 (L1) Ensure issue deletion is limited to specific users

CIS Benchmark: CIS GitHub Benchmark v1.2.0

Assessment Status: Manual

Rationale

Issues often capture defects, milestones, operational history, and security-relevant discussion. Broad issue deletion rights can disrupt development records or remove evidence of suspicious activity, so deletion should be limited to trusted users.

Impact

Members without the required repository or organization role will not be able to delete issues. Organizations may need a documented escalation path for legitimate issue cleanup.

Mito automation note

CIS marks this recommendation as Manual. This Mito test collects the organization setting evidence that maps to CIS GH 1.2.4, then reports Investigate because CIS still requires a human trust review.

When members_can_delete_issues is true, CIS requires verifying that repository admin members are trusted and qualified. When it is false, CIS still requires verifying that organization owners are trusted and qualified.

API evidence

Endpoint: GET /orgs/{org}

Evidence field: members_can_delete_issues

When this field is returned, the test records the actual value and returns Investigate so the remaining CIS manual review path is visible in Mito results.

Permissions required

GitHub requires organization-owner visibility for full organization details. Use Connect-MtGitHub with a classic PAT that has admin:org, or a fine-grained PAT with organization Members read and Administration read permissions.

Remediation summary

In the organization settings, open Member privileges and disable the option that allows members to delete issues for the organization. If the setting remains enabled, manually verify that repository administrators are limited to trusted users and document the review. If the setting is disabled, verify that organization owners are limited to trusted users and document the review.

Known limitations

This test verifies the organization setting only. It does not enumerate repository administrators, organization owners, or decide whether those users are trusted.

Mito check, based on CIS Microsoft 365 Foundations Benchmark. Author: thetechgy. Open-source licences.

Open-source licences. CIS Benchmark material © Center for Internet Security, Inc.; CISA SCuBA baselines are public domain (CC0).