VulnerabilityPublished 30 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-110855: GitPython · separate_git_dir leaks env vars via crafted .gitmodules submodule name

Affects ternSource GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-110855· High 7.1

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.1 High.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

7.1High

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 21% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/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: Passive
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: Passive: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires limited interaction by the targeted user with the vulnerable system and the attacker’s payload. These interactions would be considered involuntary and do not require that the user actively subvert protections built into the vulnerable system.
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 14 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 29 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Homebrewtern`pkg:brew/tern`Other threats	Affected >=2.12.0	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

As of the provided data, no explicit patch or fix is confirmed. Users should check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is applied, avoid cloning and updating submodules from untrusted or malicious repositories, especially in environments where sensitive environment variables are set. Additionally, avoid enabling DEBUG-level logging for GitPython subprocess calls in CI or verbose environments to reduce exposure of leaked secrets in logs.

Description

GitPython's _clone() method improperly expands environment variables in the separate_git_dir parameter derived from attacker-controlled .gitmodules submodule names. This leads to leakage of environment variable values as directory names on disk and in debug logs when cloning and updating submodules from a malicious repository. The flaw arises because Git.polish_url() is called without disabling variable expansion on untrusted input. This vulnerability affects GitPython versions starting from 2.12.0 and has a CVSS score of 6.5.

Impact

An attacker controlling a malicious Git repository can cause a victim's GitPython client to expand environment variables from the victim's environment and leak their values. The leaked secrets appear as directory names on disk under .git/modules/ and in debug-level logs of subprocess invocations, potentially exposing sensitive environment variables such as secret keys. This disclosure occurs during normal clone and submodule update operations without requiring elevated privileges. The vulnerability does not allow code execution or integrity compromise but risks sensitive information disclosure.

Summary

The vulnerability in GitPython (CVE-2026-110855) stems from the _clone() method's handling of the separate_git_dir argument, which is derived from the .gitmodules submodule name. Unlike other calls to Git.polish_url(), this call does not disable environment variable expansion, allowing an attacker to craft a submodule name containing environment variable syntax (e.g., $VAR). When a victim clones and updates submodules from a malicious repository, the environment variable expands, leaking its value as a persistent directory name under .git/modules/ and exposing it in debug-level logs of subprocess calls. The vulnerability is due to the lack of expand_vars=False in the polish_url call for separate_git_dir, despite this being standard practice elsewhere in the codebase. The flaw affects GitPython versions >=2.12.0. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

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Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 30 Oct 2026, 05:53 UTC

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