GitPython: Submodule.move() follows an attacker-committed intermediate symlink outside the worktree

Exploitation

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

CVSS

not scored

EPSS

• CVE-2026-110860: 0.19% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 8.46 (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 GitPython's public `Submodule.move()` API verifies that its destination is lexically inside the parent repository, but it does not reject symbolic links in the destination's intermediate components before filesystem operations. On systems that check out Git symlinks, an untrusted repository can therefore redirect a fixed, application-selected move destination outside the parent worktree. The reporter reproduced this on the latest release, GitPython 3.1.62, and current `main`. In the strict scenario, the repository commits `vendor -> ../outside`, while the consuming application independently passes the fixed literal `vendor/module`. `Submodule.move()` follows `vendor`, moves the initialized submodule checkout to `outside/module`, rewrites `.gitmodules` and the index to the symlinked path, and leaves the index unable to produce a tree. The same result occurs when the committed symlink contains an absolute path to an external directory. No attacker-controlled API argument,…

Published by the source

27 Oct 2026, 15:26 UTC

Last modified by the source

27 Oct 2026, 15:47 UTC

Source last checked

28 Oct 2026, 06:10 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 28 Oct 2026

   Amended from osv record GHSA-gq48-pqfc-9p58

2. Revision 1 · created · 27 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-gq48-pqfc-9p58

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-110860

Advisory: GitPython: Submodule.move() follows an attacker-committed intermediate symlink outside the worktree
IDs: CVE-2026-110860, GHSA-gq48-pqfc-9p58
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-gq48-pqfc-9p58 (revision 2, source checked 28 Oct 2026, 06:10 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Unrated
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: gitpython 3.2.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

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

## 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://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-gq48-pqfc-9p58 (OSV record GHSA-gq48-pqfc-9p58 lists affected ranges: PyPI gitpython >=0 <3.2.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gq48-pqfc-9p58 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-gq48-pqfc-9p58 lists affected ranges: PyPI gitpython >=0 <3.2.0)

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