CVE-2020-11008: Affected versions of Git have a vulnerability whereby Git can be tricked into sending private credentials to a host controlled by an attacker. This bu...

Description

Affected versions of Git have a vulnerability whereby Git can be tricked into sending private credentials to a host controlled by an attacker. This bug is similar to CVE-2020-5260(GHSA-qm7j-c969-7j4q). The fix for that bug still left the door open for an exploit where _some_ credential is leaked (but the attacker cannot control which one). Git uses external "credential helper" programs to store and retrieve passwords or other credentials from secure storage provided by the operating system. Specially-crafted URLs that are considered illegal as of the recently published Git versions can cause Git to send a "blank" pattern to helpers, missing hostname and protocol fields. Many helpers will interpret this as matching _any_ URL, and will return some unspecified stored password, leaking the password to an attacker's server. The vulnerability can be triggered by feeding a malicious URL to `git clone`. However, the affected URLs look rather suspicious; the likely vector would be through systems which automatically clone URLs not visible to the user, such as Git submodules, or package systems built around Git. The root of the problem is in Git itself, which should not be feeding blank input to helpers. However, the ability to exploit the vulnerability in practice depends on which helpers are in use. Credential helpers which are known to trigger the vulnerability: - Git's "store" helper - Git's "cache" helper - the "osxkeychain" helper that ships in Git's "contrib" directory Credential helpers which are known to be safe even with vulnerable versions of Git: - Git Credential Manager for Windows Any helper not in this list should be assumed to trigger the vulnerability.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.5/10

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

EPSS Probability

3.90%

88.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Git-Scm	Git	< 2.17.5
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.18.0, < 2.18.4
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.19.0, < 2.19.5
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.20.0, < 2.20.4
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.21.0, < 2.21.3
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.22.0, < 2.22.4
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.23.0, < 2.23.3
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.24.0, < 2.24.3
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.25.0, < 2.25.4
Git-Scm	Git	>= 2.26.0, < 2.26.2
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	16.04
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	18.04
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	19.10
Debian	Debian Linux	8.0
Fedoraproject	Fedora	31
Fedoraproject	Fedora	32

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00003.html
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/May/41
https://github.com/git/git/commit/c44088ecc4b0722636e0a305f9608d3047197282Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-hjc9-x69f-jqj7Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-qm7j-c969-7j4qMitigation, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/04/msg00015.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/74Q7WVJ6FKLIN62VS2JD2XCNWK5TNKOW/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MOCTR2SEHCPSCOVUQJAGFPGKFMI2VE6V/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PN3FUOXKX3AXTULYV53ACABER2W2FSOU/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202004-13Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211183
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4334-1/Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00003.html
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/May/41
https://github.com/git/git/commit/c44088ecc4b0722636e0a305f9608d3047197282Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-hjc9-x69f-jqj7Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-qm7j-c969-7j4qMitigation, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/04/msg00015.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/74Q7WVJ6FKLIN62VS2JD2XCNWK5TNKOW/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MOCTR2SEHCPSCOVUQJAGFPGKFMI2VE6V/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PN3FUOXKX3AXTULYV53ACABER2W2FSOU/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202004-13Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211183
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4334-1/Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Apr 21, 2020
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-11008?

Affected versions of Git have a vulnerability whereby Git can be tricked into sending private credentials to a host controlled by an attacker. This bug is similar to CVE-2020-5260(GHSA-qm7j-c969-7j4q). The fix for that bug still left the door open for an exploit where _some_ credential is leaked (but the attacker cannot control which one). Git uses external "credential helper" programs to store and retrieve passwords or other credentials from secure storage provided by the operating system. Specially-crafted URLs that are considered illegal as of the recently published Git versions can cause Git to send a "blank" pattern to helpers, missing hostname and protocol fields. Many helpers will interpret this as matching _any_ URL, and will return some unspecified stored password, leaking the password to an attacker's server. The vulnerability can be triggered by feeding a malicious URL to `git clone`. However, the affected URLs look rather suspicious; the likely vector would be through systems which automatically clone URLs not visible to the user, such as Git submodules, or package systems built around Git. The root of the problem is in Git itself, which should not be feeding blank input to helpers. However, the ability to exploit the vulnerability in practice depends on which helpers are in use. Credential helpers which are known to trigger the vulnerability: - Git's "store" helper - Git's "cache" helper - the "osxkeychain" helper that ships in Git's "contrib" directory Credential helpers which are known to be safe even with vulnerable versions of Git: - Git Credential Manager for Windows Any helper not in this list should be assumed to trigger the vulnerability.

How severe is CVE-2020-11008?

CVE-2020-11008 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 3.90% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2020-11008?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.