Tern: GitPython parse_actor_and_date() is vulnerable to quadratic backtracking on malformed identity lines
Affects ternSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.7 High.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 27% 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:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitation 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.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Homebrewternpkg:brew/ternOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
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 that modifies the regex pattern in parse_actor_and_date() to prevent quadratic backtracking. Users should upgrade GitPython to a version including this patch. Until then, avoid processing untrusted repositories or apply custom validation to reject malformed author/committer/tagger lines. The vendor advisory confirms the fix is implemented and tested.
Description
A regular expression in GitPython's parse_actor_and_date() function can cause quadratic backtracking on malformed author/committer/tagger lines missing or having malformed trailing epoch or timezone data. This leads to CPU exhaustion when processing crafted commit or tag objects. The issue affects GitPython versions from 2.12.0 onward. A fix has been proposed to change the regex pattern to eliminate the backtracking.
References
- github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/security/advisories/GHSA-m64x-33q8-m5h7 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/pull/2253 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/commit/8290c98d35465a38090cdcc1b17be69967092a15 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/releases/tag/3.2.0 (opens in a new tab)