GHSA-hmqg-cxww-wqhq: OS Command Injection

Impact

PHPCodeSniffer versions before v3.13.6 and v4.0.2 contain a command injection vulnerability in the code creating the Gitblame, Hgblame and Svnblame report(s).

As a result, running PHPCodeSniffer over untrusted files, for example, in a CI pipeline that scans pull requests, or on a developer machine reviewing third-party code, could result in attacker-controlled shell commands being executed when the Gitblame, Hgblame or Svnblame report(s) would process a file whose name contains shell metacharacters.

Users using the default Full report, or any of the other non-blame reports, are not affected. Users on a runtime platform which does not allow filenames to contain shell metacharacters, such as " and ;, are not affected.

Patched versions

The issue has been fixed in PHPCodeSniffer v3.13.6 and v4.0.2. We recommend all users upgrade to these versions at their earliest convenience.

Workaround

Users of PHPCodeSniffer who cannot upgrade immediately should ensure they do not use the Gitblame, Hgblame or the Svnblame reports when scanning untrusted code.

This is especially relevant for CI jobs, pre-commit or review tooling, automated review services, and any service that scans untrusted repositories or uploaded source trees.

Credits

Many thanks to both @Faze-up and @edorian for responsibly disclosing this vulnerability.

How can I report a security bug?

Please report security vulnerabilities privately via the "Security and quality" tab on the PHPCodeSniffer repository.