gix-fs: Symlink prefix-reuse allows worktree escape during checkout

Exploitation

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

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-44471: 0.29% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 21.78 (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 A malicious tree can be constructed that will, when checked out with gitoxide, permit writing an attacker-controlled symlink into any existing directory the user has write access to. Details During checkout, all symlink index entries are deferred and created after regular files using a single shared gixworktree::Stack. Internally, this uses a gixfs::Stack. gixfs::Stack::makerelativepathcurrent() caches validated path prefixes: when the previously-processed leaf component exactly matches the leading component(s) of the next path, the leaf-to-directory transition at gix-fs/src/stack.rs:195-197 invokes only delegate.pushdirectory(), never delegate.push(). In gixworktree::stack::delegate::StackDelegate, when the state member is State::CreateDirectoryAndAttributesStack, Attributes::pushdirectory() only loads attributes (from the ODB, in the clone case), and does not perform any other checks. The on-disk symlinkmetadata() check and unlink-on-collision live in…

Published by the source

7 May 2026, 00:01 UTC

Last modified by the source

14 May 2026, 20:43 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:42 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-f89h-2fjh-2r9q

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-44471

Advisory: gix-fs: Symlink prefix-reuse allows worktree escape during checkout
IDs: CVE-2026-44471, GHSA-f89h-2fjh-2r9q
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-44471 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:42 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: gix-fs 0.21.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- crates.io gix-fs: affected <= 0.21.0; fixed in 0.21.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- crates.io gix-fs: check the installed version with your package manager.

## 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 gix-fs.
- 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-f89h-2fjh-2r9q (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-f89h-2fjh-2r9q lists affected ranges: crates.io gix-fs >=0 <=0.21.0)

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