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High, CVSS 8.7amended

GitPython: clone_from()/clone() omit --separate-git-dir from unsafe_git_clone_options, enabling arbitrary git-directory creation outside the destination

CVE-2026-78677GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (gitpython 3.1.59), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

Affected packages

  • PyPI gitpython

    Affected
    <= 3.1.58
    Fixed in
    3.1.59

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
8.7 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
  • CVE-2026-78677: 0.65% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 51.27 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

- CWE: CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path) / CWE-22 (Path Traversal, in the "escapes intended base directory" sense) - Affected component: git/repo/base.py, Repo.unsafegitcloneoptions (class attribute, lines 153-165) and Repo.clone() (lines 1477-1520), reached via the public Repo.clonefrom() (line 1626) and Repo.clone() (line 1567) APIs. - Affected version: GitPython at HEAD (9729ed3b948f2bde09f1f188c5311e172212b67e, 2026-08-05, VERSION 3.1.58) Reachability Repo.clonefrom(url, topath, kwargs) (and Repo.clone()) forward arbitrary keyword arguments to the underlying git clone invocation. Before forwarding, GitPython builds a candidate option list from the kwargs (Git.optioncandidates) and checks it against a denylist, Repo.unsafegitcloneoptions, via Git.checkunsafeoptions() — unless the caller passes allowunsafeoptions=True. This denylist mechanism is exactly the guard that the last ~16 published GHSAs against this repo (2026-07-12 → 2026-08-05) have repeatedly found…

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 4 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc

  2. Revision 3 · amended ·

    Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

  3. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Amended from osv record GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc

  4. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from ghsa record GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc

Agent brief

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-78677

Advisory: GitPython: clone_from()/clone() omit --separate-git-dir from unsafe_git_clone_options, enabling arbitrary git-directory creation outside the destination
IDs: CVE-2026-78677, GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-78677 (revision 4, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:51 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: gitpython 3.1.59. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI gitpython: affected <= 3.1.58; fixed in 3.1.59

## 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-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc lists affected ranges: PyPI gitpython >=0 <=3.1.58)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc (OSV record GHSA-8mcc-hrx5-hvxc lists affected ranges: PyPI gitpython >=0 <3.1.59 (fixed))

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