Git security vulnerabilities announced

Today, the Git project is releasing new versions to address six security vulnerabilities. These include arbitrary code execution when recursively cloning a malicious repository, writes to unintended files, and memory corruption when processing merges or binary patches.

The fixes are included in Git 2.56.1, with backports to Git 2.55.1, 2.54.1, 2.53.1, 2.52.1, 2.51.3, and 2.50.2. We recommend updating to Git 2.56.1 or the patched release for your maintenance series, and updating any applications that bundle Git. Vulnerabilities in Git CVE-2026-111760: Code execution during recursive clones Git checks paths before writing files into a working tree, including rejecting paths that would overwrite its own repository metadata. However, an integer truncation in Git’s index handling can cause an extremely long path to pass validation under one name and then be written using a shorter name.Collapse comment An attacker can use this discrepancy to replace a submodule’s .git file with a symbolic link pointing to a directory containing malicious configuration or hooks. When Git subsequently uses that directory, it can execute attacker-controlled code during a recursive clone. The fix rejects extremely long index entry paths before their lengths can be truncated. [Advisory] CVE-2026-113408: Path traversal through a server’s advertised HEAD When cloning an empty repository using Git protocol v2, the server can advertise a HEAD symref pointing to an unborn branch (one that has no commits yet). Git did not validate the symref’s target before storing it locally. A malicious server can supply a name containing path-traversal components. With the files reference backend, a later operation that updates the branch can write outside the intended reference directory. Git now validates the advertised target before accepting it. The release also validates other reference names and symbolic-reference targets received through protocol v2. [Advisory] CVE-2026-114467: Stack corruption when removing signatures When stripping GPG signatures from a message, Git assumed there would be at most two signatures. A specially crafted message containing more than two signatures can cause Git to write past the end of a fixed-size stack array. This can be triggered by merging a tag containing more than two signatures, causing memory corruption and a potential denial of service.