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This vulnerability arises from a critical omission in GitPython’s denylist for unsafe `git clone` options. The `Repo.clone_from()` and `Repo.clone()` APIs allow arbitrary keyword arguments to be forwarded to the underlying `git clone` command. To prevent security risks, GitPython maintains a denylist, unsafe_git_clone_options, which is checked via Git.check_unsafe_options(). By default, `allow_unsafe_options` is False, meaning these unsafe options should be blocked.
The flaw exists because the `–separate-git-dir=unsafe_git_init_options) but is completely missing from unsafe_git_clone_options. This is contradictory, as both `git init` and `git clone` accept this option, and the function’s own docstring explicitly lists `–separate-git-dir` as an option that `allow_unsafe_options=False` is supposed to block.
An attacker can exploit this by passing a `separate_git_dir=…` keyword argument into `Repo.clone_from()` or Repo.clone(). GitPython will render this as `–separate-git-dir=UnsafeOptionError. The `git clone` command then executes, creating the entire Git metadata directory (including config, hooks, objects, refs, etc.) at the attacker-controlled path.
This allows arbitrary directory and file creation outside the intended clone destination, limited only by the filesystem permissions of the process. The impact is severe: an attacker can plant a Git repository structure (including a `hooks/` directory) at a chosen location. If this location collides with an existing directory, it can silently overwrite critical files like config, HEAD, and hooks/. Combined with later Git operations on that directory, this can escalate to remote code execution (RCE) through hook execution, matching the impact class of previously published high-severity CVEs.
DailyCVE Form:
Platform: GitPython
Version: 3.1.58 (HEAD)
Vulnerability : Path Traversal
Severity: High
date: 2026-08-05
Prediction: 2026-08-12
What Undercode Say:
Vulnerability Check PYTHONPATH="<repo>:<repo>/gitdb:<repo>/smmap" python3 gitpython-001-poc.py /tmp/gitpython-001-poc
PoC Snippet (from ) import git repo = git.Repo.clone_from(src, dest, separate_git_dir=target_gitdir)
Exploit: (Educational Purposes!)
To exploit, an attacker would need to influence the `separate_git_dir` keyword argument passed to `Repo.clone_from()` or `Repo.clone()` in a vulnerable application. The following steps outline the exploitation process:
1. Identify a target application that accepts user-controlled input to configure a `git clone` operation using GitPython.
2. Inject a `separate_git_dir=/path/controlled/by/attacker` argument.
- The application, with `allow_unsafe_options` left at its default
False, will not block the option. - GitPython will execute
git clone --separate-git-dir=/path/controlled/by/attacker -- <url> <dest>. - The attacker’s specified path will now contain the full Git metadata of the cloned repository, potentially overwriting existing files or planting malicious hooks.
Protection:
The primary protection is to immediately patch the application by updating GitPython to a version where this issue has been fixed. The fix involves adding `”–separate-git-dir”` to the `unsafe_git_clone_options` list in git/repo/base.py. As a workaround, applications should not accept user-controlled values for `separate_git_dir` or should manually validate and sanitize any such input before passing it to GitPython’s API.
Impact:
- Arbitrary directory creation at an attacker-controlled path, enabling filesystem manipulation outside the intended sandbox.
- Potential for integrity violation by overwriting existing Git metadata in shared or predictable locations.
- Escalation to Remote Code Execution (RCE) if the attacker-planted Git directory is later used by the system, leading to execution of malicious hooks.
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Sources:
Reported By: github.com
Extra Source Hub:
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