CVE-2023-40590

Public Exploit
Untrusted search path on Windows systems leading to arbitrary code execution

Description

GitPython is a python library used to interact with Git repositories. When resolving a program, Python/Windows look for the current working directory, and after that the PATH environment. GitPython defaults to use the `git` command, if a user runs GitPython from a repo has a `git.exe` or `git` executable, that program will be run instead of the one in the user's `PATH`. This is more of a problem on how Python interacts with Windows systems, Linux and any other OS aren't affected by this. But probably people using GitPython usually run it from the CWD of a repo. An attacker can trick a user to download a repository with a malicious `git` executable, if the user runs/imports GitPython from that directory, it allows the attacker to run any arbitrary commands. There is no fix currently available for windows users, however there are a few mitigations. 1: Default to an absolute path for the git program on Windows, like `C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.EXE` (default git path installation). 2: Require users to set the `GIT_PYTHON_GIT_EXECUTABLE` environment variable on Windows systems. 3: Make this problem prominent in the documentation and advise users to never run GitPython from an untrusted repo, or set the `GIT_PYTHON_GIT_EXECUTABLE` env var to an absolute path. 4: Resolve the executable manually by only looking into the `PATH` environment variable.

Category

7.8
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.33%
Vendor Advisory github.com
Affected: gitpython-developers GitPython
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2023-40590?
CVE-2023-40590 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2023-40590?
To fix CVE-2023-40590, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2023-40590 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2023-40590 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2023-40590?
CVE-2023-40590 affects gitpython-developers GitPython.
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