CVE-2026-78675

GitPython before 3.1.59 fails to disable merge_includes when parsing .gitmodules, allowing attackers to disclose local file content by including arbitrary file paths via [include] directives. Attackers can craft a malicious .gitmodules file with include directives pointing to sensitive files; when repo.submodules is accessed, GitConfigParser raises MissingSectionHeaderError embedding the target file's first line verbatim in the exception message.

GitPython before 3.1.59 fails to disable merge_includes when parsing .gitmodules, allowing attackers to disclose local file content by including arbitrary file paths via [include] directives. Attackers can craft a malicious .gitmodules file with include directives pointing to sensitive files; when repo.submodules is accessed, GitConfigParser raises MissingSectionHeaderError embedding the target file's first line verbatim in the exception message.

[HIGH] Arbitrary local file content disclosure via [include] directive in untrusted .gitmodules (SubmoduleConfigParser never disables merge_includes)

• CWE: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information) / CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path)
• Affected component: git/objects/submodule/base.py, Submodule._config_parser() (~line 273) constructing SubmoduleConfigParser(fp_module, read_only=read_only); git/config.py, GitConfigParser.__init__ (merge_includes default), GitConfigParser.read()/_included_paths() (include-path resolution, ~lines 630-685), GitConfigParser._read() (~line 493-498, MissingSectionHeaderError)
• Affected version: GitPython at HEAD (9729ed3b948f2bde09f1f188c5311e172212b67e, 2026-08-05, VERSION 3.1.58)

Reachability

GitConfigParser.__init__ defaults merge_includes=True: any config file it parses has its [include] (and, when a repo= is supplied, [includeIf ...]) directives followed and merged in. The maintainers already recognized this as dangerous for one specific case and fixed it in commit 41ecc6a4 ("Disable merge_includes in config writers"), which passes merge_includes=False when Repo.config_writer() builds its parser (git/repo/base.py).

That fix never touched Submodule._config_parser(). This method builds the parser used for every read of a repo's submodule configuration — repo.submodules, Submodule.iter_items(), Submodule.config() — via SubmoduleConfigParser(fp_module, read_only=read_only), passing neither merge_includes=False nor repo=. The True class default is therefore inherited unchanged, and fp_module here is .gitmodules — the single most attacker-controlled config file in the entire codebase, since it ships verbatim as tracked content inside any cloned repository.

GitConfigParser.read()'s include-path resolution (~line 662-680) performs no containment check: osp.isabs(include_path) short-circuits the path join entirely for an absolute path, and a relative path is joined with osp.join(osp.dirname(file_path), include_path) / osp.normpath()'d with no check that the result stays under the repository. ~ is expanded via osp.expanduser. The only gate before opening is os.access(include_path, os.R_OK) — a readability check, not a path restriction.

Once opened, GitConfigParser._read() parses the target file as git-config INI. If the first non-blank/non-comment line is not a [section] header — true of virtually any non-gitconfig file (source code, /etc/passwd, .env files, credential files, logs, JSON/YAML) — it raises configparser.MissingSectionHeaderError(fpname, lineno, line). Python's stdlib formats this exception's str() as "File contains no section headers.\nfile: %r, line: %d\n%r" % (fpname, lineno, line) — it embeds the verbatim content of that file's first line in the exception message. Submodule.iter_items() catches only (IOError, BadName), not configparser.Error, so this exception propagates straight out of the ordinary, read-only repo.submodules call.

Root cause

Parity gap between two config-parser construction sites for the exact same footgun: Repo.config_writer() was hardened against merge_includes in 2023 (41ecc6a4); Submodule._config_parser() — which parses .gitmodules, content that is always attacker-controlled the moment a repository is cloned from an untrusted source — was never given the same treatment. (The submodule write-mode config parser at git/objects/submodule/base.py for .git/modules/<name>/config — a different, locally-generated file — has correctly passed merge_includes=False since 2022, underscoring that the omission for .gitmodules reads looks like an oversight rather than a considered exception.)

Exploit path

1. Attacker crafts a repository whose .gitmodules contains a legitimate-looking [submodule ...] section plus:

   [include]
   	path = /etc/passwd
   

   (an…

Duplicate Advisory

This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-7833-fr7j-v32q. This link is maintained to preserve external references.

Original Description

GitPython before 3.1.59 fails to disable merge_includes when parsing .gitmodules, allowing attackers to disclose local file content by including arbitrary file paths via [include] directives. Attackers can craft a malicious .gitmodules file with include directives pointing to sensitive files; when repo.submodules is accessed, GitConfigParser raises MissingSectionHeaderError embedding the target file's first line verbatim in the exception message.

GitPython is a python library used to interact with git repositories, high-level like git-porcelain, or low-level like git-plumbing.

Security Fix(es):

GitPython before 3.1.57 contains an incomplete denylist in the unsafe_git_archive_options guard that omits --add-file and --add-virtual-file options. Attackers can supply these options to Repo.archive() to read arbitrary files from the filesystem and include them in the returned archive.(CVE-2026-73619)

GitPython before 3.1.57 fails to guard git option forwarding in IndexFile.checkout() and TagReference.create(), allowing attackers to pass unsafe options via kwargs. Attackers can use --prefix to overwrite arbitrary files with repository content or -F to read arbitrary files returned in-band.(CVE-2026-73620)

GitPython before 3.1.56 contains an argument injection vulnerability in the Commit.count() method, which forwards keyword arguments to 'git rev-list' without the check_unsafe_options guard present in the sibling iter_items method. An attacker who can control options passed to Commit.count (e.g., via an application that forwards a user-supplied options dict) can supply output=<path>, causing 'git rev-list --output=<path>' to open and truncate the target file to zero bytes before revision parsing. This allows destruction/blanking of an arbitrary file at the process's privilege level (no content control, 0-byte truncation).(CVE-2026-73621)

GitPython before 3.1.55 fails to disable environment variable expansion in Remote.create() and Submodule.add() URL handling, allowing attackers to exfiltrate secrets by supplying URLs containing variable references. Attackers can craft URLs with environment variable tokens that are expanded into .git/config and .gitmodules, then transmitted to attacker-controlled hosts during fetch or pull operations.(CVE-2026-73622)

GitPython before 3.1.54 contains an incomplete denylist in unsafe_git_clone_options that omits --template, allowing attackers to achieve arbitrary command execution during clone operations. Attackers can supply --template pointing to a directory containing malicious post-checkout hooks that execute when git clones the repository.(CVE-2026-73623)

GitPython versions before 3.1.54 contain an arbitrary file overwrite vulnerability in the Diffable.diff method that fails to validate git options passed through kwargs. Attackers can supply the --output argument via the other parameter or output kwarg to write patch content to attacker-chosen file paths at process privilege level.(CVE-2026-73624)

GitPython versions before 3.1.54 contain a remote code execution vulnerability in the check_unsafe_options guard that can be bypassed by smuggling git options inside single-character kwarg values. Attackers can supply crafted option dictionaries to clone_from, fetch, pull, push, ls_remote, iter_commits, blame, or archive methods to execute arbitrary OS commands via the --upload-pack parameter.(CVE-2026-73625)

GitPython versions before 3.1.58 fail to validate options passed to git rm and git checkout commands in IndexFile.remove() and Head.checkout(). Attackers can supply --pathspec-from-file and --pathspec-file-nul parameters to read arbitrary files accessible to the process, with full file contents returned in GitCommandError.stderr.(CVE-2026-76217)

GitPython before 3.1.58 contains a remote code execution vulnerability in Repo.init that forwards unsafe git options without validation. Attackers can supply a template parameter pointing to a directory with malicious git hooks that execute arbitrary code when git operations are performed on the initialized repository.(CVE-2026-76218)

GitPython versions before 3.1.58 contain an arbitrary file overwrite vulnerability in IndexFile.from_tree, IndexFile.reset, and IndexFile.merge_tree methods that append caller-influenced treeish strings to git read-tree without option validation or argument separation. Attackers can inject the --index-output option to…

GitPython is a python library used to interact with git repositories, high-level like git-porcelain, or low-level like git-plumbing.

Security Fix(es):

GitPython before 3.1.57 contains an incomplete denylist in the unsafe_git_archive_options guard that omits --add-file and --add-virtual-file options. Attackers can supply these options to Repo.archive() to read arbitrary files from the filesystem and include them in the returned archive.(CVE-2026-73619)

GitPython before 3.1.57 fails to guard git option forwarding in IndexFile.checkout() and TagReference.create(), allowing attackers to pass unsafe options via kwargs. Attackers can use --prefix to overwrite arbitrary files with repository content or -F to read arbitrary files returned in-band.(CVE-2026-73620)

GitPython before 3.1.56 contains an argument injection vulnerability in the Commit.count() method, which forwards keyword arguments to 'git rev-list' without the check_unsafe_options guard present in the sibling iter_items method. An attacker who can control options passed to Commit.count (e.g., via an application that forwards a user-supplied options dict) can supply output=<path>, causing 'git rev-list --output=<path>' to open and truncate the target file to zero bytes before revision parsing. This allows destruction/blanking of an arbitrary file at the process's privilege level (no content control, 0-byte truncation).(CVE-2026-73621)

GitPython before 3.1.55 fails to disable environment variable expansion in Remote.create() and Submodule.add() URL handling, allowing attackers to exfiltrate secrets by supplying URLs containing variable references. Attackers can craft URLs with environment variable tokens that are expanded into .git/config and .gitmodules, then transmitted to attacker-controlled hosts during fetch or pull operations.(CVE-2026-73622)

GitPython before 3.1.54 contains an incomplete denylist in unsafe_git_clone_options that omits --template, allowing attackers to achieve arbitrary command execution during clone operations. Attackers can supply --template pointing to a directory containing malicious post-checkout hooks that execute when git clones the repository.(CVE-2026-73623)

GitPython versions before 3.1.54 contain an arbitrary file overwrite vulnerability in the Diffable.diff method that fails to validate git options passed through kwargs. Attackers can supply the --output argument via the other parameter or output kwarg to write patch content to attacker-chosen file paths at process privilege level.(CVE-2026-73624)

GitPython versions before 3.1.54 contain a remote code execution vulnerability in the check_unsafe_options guard that can be bypassed by smuggling git options inside single-character kwarg values. Attackers can supply crafted option dictionaries to clone_from, fetch, pull, push, ls_remote, iter_commits, blame, or archive methods to execute arbitrary OS commands via the --upload-pack parameter.(CVE-2026-73625)

GitPython versions before 3.1.58 fail to validate options passed to git rm and git checkout commands in IndexFile.remove() and Head.checkout(). Attackers can supply --pathspec-from-file and --pathspec-file-nul parameters to read arbitrary files accessible to the process, with full file contents returned in GitCommandError.stderr.(CVE-2026-76217)

GitPython before 3.1.58 contains a remote code execution vulnerability in Repo.init that forwards unsafe git options without validation. Attackers can supply a template parameter pointing to a directory with malicious git hooks that execute arbitrary code when git operations are performed on the initialized repository.(CVE-2026-76218)

GitPython versions before 3.1.58 contain an arbitrary file overwrite vulnerability in IndexFile.from_tree, IndexFile.reset, and IndexFile.merge_tree methods that append caller-influenced treeish strings to git read-tree without option validation or argument separation. Attackers can inject the --index-output option to…

GitPython is a python library used to interact with git repositories, high-level like git-porcelain, or low-level like git-plumbing.

Security Fix(es):

GitPython before 3.1.57 contains an incomplete denylist in the unsafe_git_archive_options guard that omits --add-file and --add-virtual-file options. Attackers can supply these options to Repo.archive() to read arbitrary files from the filesystem and include them in the returned archive.(CVE-2026-73619)

GitPython before 3.1.57 fails to guard git option forwarding in IndexFile.checkout() and TagReference.create(), allowing attackers to pass unsafe options via kwargs. Attackers can use --prefix to overwrite arbitrary files with repository content or -F to read arbitrary files returned in-band.(CVE-2026-73620)

GitPython before 3.1.56 contains an argument injection vulnerability in the Commit.count() method, which forwards keyword arguments to 'git rev-list' without the check_unsafe_options guard present in the sibling iter_items method. An attacker who can control options passed to Commit.count (e.g., via an application that forwards a user-supplied options dict) can supply output=<path>, causing 'git rev-list --output=<path>' to open and truncate the target file to zero bytes before revision parsing. This allows destruction/blanking of an arbitrary file at the process's privilege level (no content control, 0-byte truncation).(CVE-2026-73621)

GitPython before 3.1.55 fails to disable environment variable expansion in Remote.create() and Submodule.add() URL handling, allowing attackers to exfiltrate secrets by supplying URLs containing variable references. Attackers can craft URLs with environment variable tokens that are expanded into .git/config and .gitmodules, then transmitted to attacker-controlled hosts during fetch or pull operations.(CVE-2026-73622)

GitPython before 3.1.54 contains an incomplete denylist in unsafe_git_clone_options that omits --template, allowing attackers to achieve arbitrary command execution during clone operations. Attackers can supply --template pointing to a directory containing malicious post-checkout hooks that execute when git clones the repository.(CVE-2026-73623)

GitPython versions before 3.1.54 contain an arbitrary file overwrite vulnerability in the Diffable.diff method that fails to validate git options passed through kwargs. Attackers can supply the --output argument via the other parameter or output kwarg to write patch content to attacker-chosen file paths at process privilege level.(CVE-2026-73624)

GitPython versions before 3.1.54 contain a remote code execution vulnerability in the check_unsafe_options guard that can be bypassed by smuggling git options inside single-character kwarg values. Attackers can supply crafted option dictionaries to clone_from, fetch, pull, push, ls_remote, iter_commits, blame, or archive methods to execute arbitrary OS commands via the --upload-pack parameter.(CVE-2026-73625)

GitPython versions before 3.1.58 fail to validate options passed to git rm and git checkout commands in IndexFile.remove() and Head.checkout(). Attackers can supply --pathspec-from-file and --pathspec-file-nul parameters to read arbitrary files accessible to the process, with full file contents returned in GitCommandError.stderr.(CVE-2026-76217)

GitPython before 3.1.58 contains a remote code execution vulnerability in Repo.init that forwards unsafe git options without validation. Attackers can supply a template parameter pointing to a directory with malicious git hooks that execute arbitrary code when git operations are performed on the initialized repository.(CVE-2026-76218)

GitPython versions before 3.1.58 contain an arbitrary file overwrite vulnerability in IndexFile.from_tree, IndexFile.reset, and IndexFile.merge_tree methods that append caller-influenced treeish strings to git read-tree without option validation or argument separation. Attackers can inject the --index-output option to…

GitPython before 3.1.59 fails to disable merge_includes when parsing .gitmodules, allowing attackers to disclose local file content by including arbitrary file paths via [include] directives. Attackers can craft a malicious .gitmodules file with include directives pointing to sensitive files; when repo.submodules is accessed, GitConfigParser raises MissingSectionHeaderError embedding the target file's first line verbatim in the exception message.

TuxCare rebuilt gitpython to address 5 CVEs. Fixed in 3.1.31.post12+tuxcare.

This update for python-GitPython fixes the following issues:

• CVE-2026-67322: environment-variable exfiltration in Repo.clone_from() URL via os.path.expandvars() (bsc#1273357).
• CVE-2026-67323: unguarded Git options passed as keyword arguments in Repo.archive() and git.ls_remote() allow for command injection (bsc#1273358).
• CVE-2026-67325: incomplete command injection blocklist fails to account for git's long-option prefix abbreviation feature and allows for bypass (bsc#1273359).
• CVE-2026-67326: failure to validate newline characters in the section parameter of config_writer() can lead to RCE via core.hooksPath (bsc#1273364).
• CVE-2026-69097: failure to properly escape section names in Git config files allows for injection of arbitrary configuration directives through malicious submodule names and can lead to RCE (bsc#1273414).
• CVE-2026-73619: incomplete denylist in the unsafe_git_archive_options guard that omits --add-file and --add- virtual-file options can lead to arbitrary file reads (bsc#1275755).
• CVE-2026-73620: failure to guard Git option forwarding in IndexFile.checkout() and TagReference.create() can lead to arbitrary file reads and writes (bsc#1275756).
• CVE-2026-73621: argument injection in the Commit.count() method allows for destruction/blanking of arbitrary files (bsc#1275757).
• CVE-2026-73622: failure to disable environment variable expansion in Remote.create() and Submodule.add() URL handling allows for secret exfiltration via URLs containing variable references (bsc#1275751).
• CVE-2026-73623: incomplete denylist in unsafe_git_clone_options that omits --template allows for arbitrary command execution (bsc#1275752).
• CVE-2026-73624: Diffable.diff method fails to validate git options passed through kwargs, which can lead to arbitrary file writes (bsc#1275753).
• CVE-2026-73625: check_unsafe_options guard bypass via smuggling of git options inside single-character kwarg values can lead to arbitrary code execution (bsc#1275754).
• CVE-2026-76217: failure to validate options passed to git rm and git checkout commands in IndexFile.remove() and Head.checkout() can lead to arbitrary file reads (bsc#1275745).
• CVE-2026-76218: unguarded git option forwarding in Repo.init allows for arbitrary command execution (bsc#1275746).
• CVE-2026-76219: unguarded git read-tree option forwarding in IndexFile.from_tree/reset/merge_tree can lead to arbitrary file overwrites (bsc#1275747).
• CVE-2026-76220: check_unsafe_options guard can be bypassed by combining a single-character kwarg with split_single_char_options=False, which can lead to arbitrary OS command injection (bsc#1275748).
• CVE-2026-76221: config-name injection in the option-name validator can lead to remote code execution (bsc#1275749).
• CVE-2026-76222: failure to validate submodule names from .gitmodules files allows creation of Git repositories at arbitrary filesystem paths outside the intended clone directory (bsc#1275750).
• CVE-2026-78675: failure to disable merge_includes when parsing .gitmodules can lead to discloseure of local file contents when arbitrary file paths are included via [include] directives (bsc#1276434).
• CVE-2026-78676: failure to safely re-serialize multi-line git-config values during write operations can corrupt dormant quoted values into live injected directives (bsc#1276433).
• CVE-2026-78677: omission of --separate-git-dir from unsafe_git_clone_options allows for creation of arbitrary git directories outside the intended clone destination (bsc#1276432).
• CVE-2026-78678: incomplete denylist in the unsafe_git_revision_options guard that omits --contents and -S options allows for reading of arbitrary files when these options to are passed to Repo.blame() (bsc#1276431).
• CVE-2026-78679: positional reference parameter can bypass an unsafe option guard and allows for arbitrary file read via…

Root has patched CVE-2026-78675 in the gitpython package for Root:PyPI. Multiple fixed versions available.

Root has patched GHSA-crmc-f4m7-33fj in the GitPython package for Root:PyPI. Multiple fixed versions available.

This update for python-GitPython fixes the following issues:

• CVE-2026-42215: command injection via Git options bypass (bsc#1264604).
• CVE-2026-42284: unsafe option check validates multi_options before shlex.split transforms it (bsc#1264605).
• CVE-2026-44243: path traversal in GitPython reference APIs allows arbitrary file write and delete outside the repository (bsc#1264606).
• CVE-2026-44244: newline injection in config_writer().set_value() enables RCE via core.hooksPath (bsc#1264608).
• CVE-2026-67322: vulnerable to environment-variable exfiltration in Repo.clone_from() (bsc#1273357).
• CVE-2026-67323: fails to guard against dangerous Git options passed as keyword arguments in Repo.archive() and git.ls_remote() (bsc#1273358).
• CVE-2026-67325: contains an incomplete command injection blocklist that fails to account for git's long-option prefix abbreviation feature (bsc#1273359).
• CVE-2026-67326: fails to validate newline characters in the section parameter of config_writer() (bsc#1273364).
• CVE-2026-69097: fails to properly escape section names in git config files, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary configuration directives through malicious submodule names (bsc#1273414).
• CVE-2026-73619: incomplete denylist in the unsafe_git_archive_options guard that omits --add-file and --add- virtual-file options can lead to arbitrary file reads (bsc#1275755).
• CVE-2026-73620: failure to guard git option forwarding in IndexFile.checkout() and TagReference.create() can lead to arbitrary file reads and writes (bsc#1275756).
• CVE-2026-73621: argument injection in the Commit.count() method allows for destruction/blanking of arbitrary files (bsc#1275757).
• CVE-2026-73622: failure to disable environment variable expansion in Remote.create() and Submodule.add() URL handling allows for secret exfiltration via URLs containing variable references (bsc#1275751).
• CVE-2026-73623: incomplete denylist in unsafe_git_clone_options that omits --template allows for arbitrary command execution (bsc#1275752).
• CVE-2026-73624: Diffable.diff method fails to validate git options passed through kwargs, which can lead to arbitrary file writes (bsc#1275753).
• CVE-2026-73625: check_unsafe_options guard bypass via smuggling of git options inside single-character kwarg values can lead to arbitrary code execution (bsc#1275754).
• CVE-2026-76217: failure to validate options passed to git rm and git checkout commands in IndexFile.remove() and Head.checkout() can lead to arbitrary file reads (bsc#1275745).
• CVE-2026-76218: unguarded git option forwarding in Repo.init allows for arbitrary command execution (bsc#1275746).
• CVE-2026-76219: unguarded git read-tree option forwarding in IndexFile.from_tree/reset/merge_tree can lead to arbitrary file overwrites (bsc#1275747).
• CVE-2026-76220: check_unsafe_options guard can be bypassed by combining a single-character kwarg with split_single_char_options=False, which can lead to arbitrary OS command injection (bsc#1275748).
• CVE-2026-76221: config-name injection in the option-name validator can lead to remote code execution (bsc#1275749).
• CVE-2026-76222: failure to validate submodule names from .gitmodules files allows creation of Git repositories at arbitrary filesystem paths outside the intended clone directory (bsc#1275750).
• CVE-2026-78675: fails to disable merge_includes when parsing .gitmodules, allowing attackers to disclose local file content by including arbitrary file paths via [include] directives (bsc#1276434).
• CVE-2026-78676: fails to safely re-serialize multi-line git-config values during write operations, corrupting dormant quoted values into injected directives (bsc#1276433).
• CVE-2026-78677: allowing creation of arbitrary git directories outside the intended clone destination (bsc#1276432).
• CVE-2026-78678: an incomplete denylist in the unsafe_git_revision_options guard that omits --contents…