CVE-2023-49569: Maliciously crafted Git server replies can lead to path traversal and RCE on go-git clients

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-01-12 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-22

Description

A path traversal vulnerability was discovered in go-git versions prior to v5.11. This vulnerability allows an attacker to create and amend files across the filesystem. In the worse case scenario, remote code execution could be achieved. Applications are only affected if they are using the ChrootOS https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/go-git/go-billy/v5/osfs#ChrootOS , which is the default when using "Plain" versions of Open and Clone funcs (e.g. PlainClone). Applications using BoundOS https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/go-git/go-billy/v5/osfs#BoundOS or in-memory filesystems are not affected by this issue. This is a go-git implementation issue and does not affect the upstream git cli.

Affected products

go-git: from 4.0.0 before 5.11.0 — fixed in 5.11.0

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: go-git 5.11.0. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2023-49569 or the next vulnerability affects your stack