ruby-git has potential remote code execution vulnerabilityGHSA-pfpr-3463-c6jh
HIGHFix: ruby-git/ruby-git#602GHSA-pfpr-3463-c6jh is a high-severity (CVSS 8) Code Injection vulnerability in git. A fix is available for git — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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 GHSA-pfpr-3463-c6jh.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
gitReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects RubyGems packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The git gem, between versions 1.2.0 and 1.12.0, incorrectly parsed the output of the git ls-files command using eval() to unescape quoted file names. If a file name was added to the git repository contained special characters, such as \n, then the git ls-files command would print the file name in quotes and escape any special characters. If the Git#ls_files method encountered a quoted file name it would use eval() to unquote and unescape any special characters, leading to potential remote code execution. Version 1.13.0 of the git gem was released which correctly parses any quoted file names.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | git | ≥ 1.2.0&&< 1.13.0 | 1.13.0bundle update git --conservative |
Affected Products
debian linuxdebianruby-gitruby-git_projectDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for git, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update git to 1.13.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-pfpr-3463-c6jh is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Satellite 6.11 for RHEL 7 | tfm-rubygem-git-0:1.18.0-0.1.el7sat | RHSA-2023:5980 |
| Red Hat Satellite 6.12 for RHEL 8 | rubygem-git-0:1.18.0-1.el8sat | RHSA-2023:5979 |
| Red Hat Satellite 6.13 for RHEL 8 | rubygem-git-0:1.18.0-1.el8sat | RHSA-2023:5931 |
| Red Hat Satellite 6.14 for RHEL 8 | rubygem-git-0:1.18.0-1.el8sat | RHSA-2023:6818 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-pfpr-3463-c6jh in your dependencies?
Find it across RubyGems, including transitive dependencies.