vulnerability / NVI-00016444 / Revision 1
go-git: Malicious reference names may modify files outside the reference storage
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for github.com/go-git/go-git/v5, github.com/go-git/go-git/v6. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
6.3 medium
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
github.com/go-git/go-git/v5
source listed<= 5.19.1
### Impact A path traversal issue in `go-git` could allow malicious reference names to access files outside the repository's intended reference storage. Loose references are stored under `.git/`. The reference name was previously used as a path without verifying that the resolved path remained within the reference storage. A name such as `refs/heads/../../config` could therefore resolve to unrelated repository metadata such as `.git/config` or `.git/HEAD`. A malicious Git server could advertise such a reference name. The name may also survive refspec mapping; for example, it could be mapped to `refs/remotes/origin/../../config` during a clone or fetch operation. This vulnerability affects filesystem-backed repositories using the `storage/filesystem` package and its `dotgit` reference storage. Users relying exclusively on the in-memory storage implementation, `storage/memory`, are not affected, because reference names are not resolved as filesystem paths. Exploitation requires an application using `go-git` with filesystem-backed storage to interact with a malicious Git server or otherwise process attacker-controlled reference names. ### Patches The issue has bee
github.com/go-git/go-git/v6
source listed<= 6.0.0-alpha.4
### Impact A path traversal issue in `go-git` could allow malicious reference names to access files outside the repository's intended reference storage. Loose references are stored under `.git/`. The reference name was previously used as a path without verifying that the resolved path remained within the reference storage. A name such as `refs/heads/../../config` could therefore resolve to unrelated repository metadata such as `.git/config` or `.git/HEAD`. A malicious Git server could advertise such a reference name. The name may also survive refspec mapping; for example, it could be mapped to `refs/remotes/origin/../../config` during a clone or fetch operation. This vulnerability affects filesystem-backed repositories using the `storage/filesystem` package and its `dotgit` reference storage. Users relying exclusively on the in-memory storage implementation, `storage/memory`, are not affected, because reference names are not resolved as filesystem paths. Exploitation requires an application using `go-git` with filesystem-backed storage to interact with a malicious Git server or otherwise process attacker-controlled reference names. ### Patches The issue has bee
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-qgq7-7hm3-q39j ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
Public revision history
Only published revisions appear here. Routine fetches do not create a material-change event.
- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.