GitPython validates a submodule's ".git" path only after cloning into it (RCE)

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

7.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2026-114145: 0.42% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 36.70 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary createsubmodule(name, path, url) clones a submodule into the repo's own .git directory before it rejects the path. A path of ".git/hooks" is accepted by the pre-clone check, so the submodule is cloned straight into the live hooks directory, and a file named post-checkout in the submodule becomes an executable .git/hooks/post-checkout. On 3.2.0+ the later index check does raise ValueError, but only after the clone already wrote to disk, and it does not remove the planted hook; on 3.1.x there is no such check and the call succeeds silently. Either way the hook runs on the next git operation (e.g. checkout), giving code execution. Details The checkout path is validated too late, after the clone has already mutated disk. This breaks the "validate before mutation" invariant that commit 43a43cd8 ("Validate submodule checkout and metadata paths before mutation") set out to enforce. Submodule.add() calls the permissive path check before cloning, and the strict check only reaches the…

Published by the source

22 Oct 2026, 16:41 UTC

Last modified by the source

22 Oct 2026, 16:45 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:55 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7

2. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Amended from osv record GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7

3. Revision 1 · created · 23 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-114145

Advisory: GitPython validates a submodule's ".git" path only after cloning into it (RCE)
IDs: CVE-2026-114145, GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-114145 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:55 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: gitpython 3.2.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI gitpython: affected <= 3.2.0; fixed in 3.2.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show gitpython`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on gitpython.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7 lists affected ranges: PyPI gitpython >=0 <=3.2.0)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7 (OSV record GHSA-83vg-56qc-22m7 lists affected ranges: PyPI gitpython >=0 <3.2.1 (fixed))

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