CVE-2023-4759 — org.eclipse.jgit
HIGHCVE-2023-4759 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-59 vulnerability in org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit. A fix is available for org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper handling of case insensitive filesystems in Eclipse JGit allows arbitrary file write
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-4759.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-4759 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit☕org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgitReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Arbitrary File Overwrite in Eclipse JGit <= 6.6.0
In Eclipse JGit, all versions <= 6.6.0.202305301015-r, a symbolic link present in a specially crafted git repository can be used to write a file to locations outside the working tree when this repository is cloned with JGit to a case-insensitive filesystem, or when a checkout from a clone of such a repository is performed on a case-insensitive filesystem.
This can happen on checkout (DirCacheCheckout), merge (ResolveMerger via its WorkingTreeUpdater), pull (PullCommand using merge), and when applying a patch (PatchApplier). This can be exploited for remote code execution (RCE), for instance if the file written outside the working tree is a git filter that gets executed on a subsequent git command.
The issue occurs only on case-insensitive filesystems, like the default filesystems on Windows and macOS. The user performing the clone or checkout must have the rights to create symbolic links for the problem to occur, and symbolic links must be enabled in the git configuration.
Setting git configuration option core.symlinks = false before checking out avoids the problem.
The issue was fixed in Eclipse JGit version 6.6.1.202309021850-r and 6.7.0.202309050840-r, available via Maven Central https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/org/eclipse/jgit/ and repo.eclipse.org https://repo.eclipse.org/content/repositories/jgit-releases/ . A backport is available in 5.13.3 starting from 5.13.3.202401111512-r.
The JGit maintainers would like to thank RyotaK for finding and reporting this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit | ≥ 6.0.0.202111291000-r&&< 6.6.1.202309021850-r | 6.6.1.202309021850-rorg.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit:6.6.1.202309021850-r |
| ☕Maven | org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit | all versions | 5.13.3.202401111512-rorg.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit:5.13.3.202401111512-r |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.eclipse.jgit:org.eclipse.jgit to 6.6.1.202309021850-r or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-4759 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-4759 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-4759. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| EAP 8.0.1 | jgit | RHSA-2024:1194 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform | org.eclipse.jgit/org.eclipse.jgit:5.13.2.SP1-redhat-00001 | RHSA-2024:0714 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.4 for RHEL 8 | eap7-eclipse-jgit-0:5.13.2-1.SP1_redhat_00001.1.el8eap | RHSA-2024:0711 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.4 for RHEL 9 | eap7-eclipse-jgit-0:5.13.2-1.SP1_redhat_00001.1.el9eap | RHSA-2024:0712 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.4 on RHEL 7 | eap7-eclipse-jgit-0:5.13.2-1.SP1_redhat_00001.1.el7eap | RHSA-2024:0710 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8.0 for RHEL 8 | eap8-apache-sshd-0:2.12.0-1.redhat_00001.1.el8eap | RHSA-2024:1192 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8.0 for RHEL 9 | eap8-apache-sshd-0:2.12.0-1.redhat_00001.1.el9eap | RHSA-2024:1193 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-4759 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-4759 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.