{"id":"CVE-2023-40590","aliases":["GHSA-wfm5-v35h-vwf4","PYSEC-2023-161"],"url":"https://o3.security/vulnerability/CVE-2023-40590","summary":"Untrusted search path on Windows systems leading to arbitrary code execution","details":" GitPython is a python library used to interact with Git repositories. When resolving a program, Python/Windows look for the current working directory, and after that the PATH environment. GitPython defaults to use the `git` command, if a user runs GitPython from a repo has a `git.exe` or `git` executable, that program will be run instead of the one in the user's `PATH`. This is more of a problem on how Python interacts with Windows systems, Linux and any other OS aren't affected by this. But probably people using GitPython usually run it from the CWD of a repo. An attacker can trick a user to download a repository with a malicious `git` executable, if the user runs/imports GitPython from that directory, it allows the attacker to run any arbitrary commands. There is no fix currently available for windows users, however there are a few mitigations. 1: Default to an absolute path for the git program on Windows, like `C:\\\\Program Files\\\\Git\\\\cmd\\\\git.EXE` (default git path installation). 2: Require users to set the `GIT_PYTHON_GIT_EXECUTABLE` environment variable on Windows systems. 3: Make this problem prominent in the documentation and advise users to never run GitPython from an untrusted repo, or set the `GIT_PYTHON_GIT_EXECUTABLE` env var to an absolute path. 4: Resolve the executable manually by only looking into the `PATH` environment variable.","published":"2023-08-28T17:24:09.965Z","modified":"2026-08-08T03:47:46.569531418Z","cvss":{"score":7.8,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"epss":null,"cisaKev":null,"exploitsKnown":1,"affectedPackages":[{"ecosystem":"PyPI","name":"gitpython","fixedVersion":"3.1.33"}],"fix":null,"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://docs.python.org/3/library/subprocess.html#popen-constructor"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/40xxx/CVE-2023-40590.json"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/security/advisories/GHSA-wfm5-v35h-vwf4"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40590"}],"provenance":{"sources":["OSV.dev","FIRST.org (EPSS)"],"lastVerified":"2026-08-08T03:47:46.569531418Z"}}