Vulnerability · Published Aug 20, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-53584libgit2: Submodule path traversal
Medium 4.3
In plain English
A medium-severity path traversal in libgit2 from libgit2. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 26% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
libgit2 is a portable C implementation of the Git core methods provided as a linkable library with a solid API, allowing to build Git functionality into your application. Prior to 1.8.6 and 1.9.5, libgit2 does not reject traversal components in a submodule path loaded from .gitmodules. The affected src/libgit2/submodule.c paths include git_submodule_lookup and git_submodule_add_setup. A crafted repository can specify a path such as ../escape-target, and applications that initialize the submodule can create directories outside the repository working tree. This issue is fixed in versions 1.8.6 and 1.9.5.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.23 | libgit2 | 1.9.6-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-53584 |
| Alpine:v3.24 | libgit2 | 1.9.6-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-53584 |
| Debian:12 | libgit2 | 1.5.1+ds-1+deb12u2 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53584 |
| Debian:13 | libgit2 | 1.9.0+ds-2+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53584 |
| Debian:14 | libgit2 | 1.9.6+ds-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53584 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | libgit2 | 1.7.2+ds-1ubuntu3.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53584 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | libgit2 | 1.9.1+ds-1ubuntu1.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53584 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-22 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
References
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/security/advisories/GHSA-cw77-j82w-mchm x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/commit/419637d3587396f5d139d6d88480eab3cd81e7a1 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/commit/467c2d95ed663df722f83a5960edf568514b128c x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/commit/ec7371da9f359cd8293e9108e7a0b1c1b61b67c4 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/releases/tag/v1.8.6 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/releases/tag/v1.9.5 x_refsource_MISC