VulnerabilityPublished 18 Jul 2024Updated 9 Nov 2026

CVE-2024-40644: gix-path can use a fake program files location

Affects gix-pathSource GCVE Database

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.8 Medium : upgrade to 0.10.9 when convenient.

Data as of 9 Nov 2026, 11:23 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.8Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 0.10.9

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: Low

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Jul 2024
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 8 Nov 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

Upgrade gix-path to 0.10.9.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
crates.iogix-path`pkg:cargo/gix-path`Other threats	Affected >=0.10.8 <0.10.9	Fixed in 0.10.9

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AI-suggested

A fixed version of gix-path is available in version 0.10.9. Users and developers should upgrade to gix-path 0.10.9 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, ensuring that git.exe is present in the PATH environment variable for all users prevents fallback to the vulnerable hard-coded paths and mitigates exploitation. No other specific mitigations are indicated by the vendor advisory.

Description

The gix-path crate version 0.10.8 on Windows can be tricked into executing a malicious git.exe placed in a fake Program Files directory by a limited user. This occurs because gix-path checks two hard-coded fallback paths for git.exe, including C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\mingw32\bin, which a limited user can create on 32-bit Windows systems. If the real git.exe is not found in the PATH, other users running applications using gix-path may execute the malicious git.exe, leading to potential privilege escalation. This vulnerability is fixed in version 0.10.9.

Impact

This vulnerability allows a limited user on a 32-bit Windows system to place a malicious executable in a fallback directory that gix-path trusts for git.exe. When another user, including administrators, runs an application using gix-path without git in their PATH, the malicious executable may be run, resulting in code execution with that user's privileges. This can lead to privilege escalation. The vulnerability does not affect 64-bit Windows systems or configurations where git.exe is found in the PATH. Exploitation requires local access with a limited user account and a specific environment configuration.

Summary

On Windows, gix-path version 0.10.8 attempts to locate git.exe by searching the PATH and then falling back to two hard-coded directories intended to represent 64-bit and 32-bit Program Files locations. On 32-bit Windows systems, the C:\Program Files (x86) directory does not exist by default, allowing a limited user to create it and place a malicious git.exe payload in the fallback path C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\mingw32\bin. If a user running an application that uses gix-path does not have git.exe in their PATH, gix-path will execute the malicious git.exe from this fallback location, potentially allowing code execution with that user's privileges. The vulnerability requires a limited user account on a 32-bit Windows system and the absence of git.exe in the PATH for the targeted user. The issue is resolved in gix-path version 0.10.9.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 9 Nov 2026, 11:23 UTC

Technical details

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