Recent supply chain attacks on npm and GitHub Actions have exploited vulnerabilities to spread malware, primarily targeting credential exfiltration. To counter these threats, significant improvements are being implemented across both platforms.

For npm, new measures include preventive account protection for high-impact accounts, introducing a 72-hour read-only period upon email or 2FA recovery code changes to allow for response. Trusted publishing now supports Circle CI, facilitating the removal of long-lived credentials from CI/CD pipelines. Staged publishing, requiring additional approval and 2FA for package publication, is being introduced as an opt-in control. Furthermore, npm v12 will disable install-time scripts by default to prevent credential exfiltration during package installation.

GitHub Actions is enhancing security with safer pull_request_target defaults for actions/checkout, preventing the checkout of untrusted code from forks. New controls allow granular policy setting on who can trigger workflows and what trigger types are permitted. A read-only Actions cache for untrusted triggers restricts malicious actors from poisoning cache entries. An Actions network firewall, currently in technical preview, will log outbound network traffic and eventually enable egress restrictions.

These updates, largely scheduled for June 2026, aim to disrupt common attack techniques, limit their impact, and provide users with tools for identification and response, fostering a more secure open-source ecosystem.