CVE-2021-21300: malicious repositories can execute remote code while cloning

Published Mar 9, 2021
·
Updated

Git is an open-source distributed revision control system. In affected versions of Git a specially crafted repository that contains symbolic links as well as files using a clean/smudge filter such as Git LFS, may cause just-checked out script to be executed while cloning onto a case-insensitive file system such as NTFS, HFS+ or APFS (i.e. the default file systems on Windows and macOS). Note that clean/smudge filters have to be configured for that. Git for Windows configures Git LFS by default, and is therefore vulnerable. The problem has been patched in the versions published on Tuesday, March 9th, 2021. As a workaound, if symbolic link support is disabled in Git (e.g. via git config --global core.symlinks false), the described attack won't work. Likewise, if no clean/smudge filters such as Git LFS are configured globally (i.e. before cloning), the attack is foiled. As always, it is best to avoid cloning repositories from untrusted sources. The earliest impacted version is 2.14.2. The fix versions are: 2.30.1, 2.29.3, 2.28.1, 2.27.1, 2.26.3, 2.25.5, 2.24.4, 2.23.4, 2.22.5, 2.21.4, 2.20.5, 2.19.6, 2.18.5, 2.17.62.17.6.

Other sources

Git. This issue was addressed with improved checks.

Credit

an anonymous researcher

Affected Software

21 affected componentsFixes available
Apple Xcode<12.5
12.5
git-scm Git<=2.14.2
git-scm Git>=2.17.0<2.17.6
git-scm Git>=2.18.0<2.18.5
git-scm Git>=2.19.0<2.19.6
git-scm Git>=2.20.0<2.20.5
git-scm Git>=2.21.0<2.21.4
git-scm Git>=2.22.0<2.22.5
git-scm Git>=2.24.0<2.24.4
git-scm Git>=2.25.0<2.25.5
git-scm Git>=2.26.0<2.26.3
git-scm Git>=2.29.0<2.29.3
git-scm Git>=2.30.0<2.30.2
git-scm Git=2.27.0
git-scm Git=2.28.0
Fedoraproject Fedora=32
Fedoraproject Fedora=33
Fedoraproject Fedora=34
Apple Xcode<12.5
Apple macOS>=11.0
Debian Debian Linux=10.0

Event History

Mar 9, 2021
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Peer vulnerabilities

Found alongside the following vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2021-21300?

CVE-2021-21300 is a vulnerability in Git that allows a specially crafted repository to execute arbitrary code.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2021-21300?

CVE-2021-21300 has a severity rating of 7.5 (high).

3

Which versions of Git are affected by CVE-2021-21300?

Git versions up to and including 2.14.2, and versions between 2.17.0 and 2.26.3 are affected by CVE-2021-21300.

4

How can I fix CVE-2021-21300?

To fix CVE-2021-21300, it is recommended to update Git to a version that is not affected by the vulnerability.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2021-21300?

You can find more information about CVE-2021-21300 in the references provided: [link1](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212320), [link2](http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163978/Git-LFS-Clone-Command-Execution.html), [link3](http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Apr/60).

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