CVE-2026-78677VulnerabilityPublished 4 Sep 2026Updated 26 Oct 2026

snakemake · GitPython: clone_from()/clone() omit --separate-git-dir from unsafe_git_clone_options, enabling arbitrary

Affects snakemakeSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-78677· High 8.7

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.7 High : upgrade to 9.25.2 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 19:26 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

8.7High

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

Patch: Available – fixed in 9.25.2

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
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 25 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 snakemake to 9.25.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Homebrewsnakemake`pkg:brew/snakemake`Other threats	Affected >=5.5.3 <9.25.2	Fixed in 9.25.2

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

AI-suggested

A fix is available in GitPython version 9.25.2. Users should upgrade to version 9.25.2 or later to ensure that the --separate-git-dir option is properly blocked by default in clone operations. Until upgraded, applications should avoid forwarding the separate_git_dir or separate-git-dir option to Repo.clone_from() or Repo.clone(), or explicitly set allow_unsafe_options=True only if the environment is trusted and the implications are understood.

Description

GitPython versions from 5.5.3 up to but not including 9.25.2 have a vulnerability where the clone_from() and clone() methods do not block the --separate-git-dir option by default. This option allows redirecting the repository's .git metadata directory to an arbitrary filesystem path controlled by the caller. As a result, an attacker able to supply this option can cause GitPython to create repository metadata outside the intended clone destination, potentially planting files or directories at arbitrary locations permitted by filesystem permissions.

Impact

An attacker who can control input to Repo.clone_from() or Repo.clone() and supply the separate_git_dir argument can cause GitPython to create a full git repository metadata structure at an arbitrary filesystem path outside the intended clone directory. This can lead to arbitrary directory and file creation, including planting malicious git hooks or other files, potentially enabling further attacks depending on the environment and permissions. The impact is high confidentiality impact (arbitrary file creation) but no direct integrity or availability impact is described. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.5 (high).

Summary

GitPython's Repo.clone_from() and Repo.clone() methods forward keyword arguments to the underlying git clone command, filtering unsafe options via a denylist (Repo.unsafe_git_clone_options). However, this denylist omits the --separate-git-dir option, which allows redirecting the .git metadata directory to an arbitrary path. Although the maintainers' documentation states that allow_unsafe_options=False should block this option, it is not included in the denylist, enabling an attacker to specify --separate-git-dir without triggering an error. This leads to arbitrary directory and file creation at attacker-controlled paths outside the intended clone destination, bounded only by the filesystem permissions of the GitPython process. This vulnerability is a parity gap between denylist protections for git init and git clone commands and is similar in nature to previously disclosed GitPython vulnerabilities involving incomplete denylist coverage.

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Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 19:26 UTC

Technical details

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