CVE-2020-5260: canonical ubuntu_linux Improper Input Validation
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2020-5260 is a critical (CVSS 9.3) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in canonical ubuntu_linux. EPSS estimates a 9.97% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 95.5% of scored vulnerabilities.
Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 5 · Related 4Timeline
- 14-04-2020PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 04-08-2024Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
Affected versions of Git have a vulnerability whereby Git can be tricked into sending private credentials to a host controlled by an attacker. Git uses external "credential helper" programs to store and retrieve passwords or other credentials from secure storage provided by the operating system. Specially-crafted URLs that contain an encoded newline can inject unintended values into the credential helper protocol stream, causing the credential helper to retrieve the password for one server (e.g., good.example.com) for an HTTP request being made to another server (e.g., evil.example.com), resulting in credentials for the former being sent to the latter. There are no restrictions on the relationship between the two, meaning that an attacker can craft a URL that will present stored credentials for any host to a host of their choosing. The vulnerability can be triggered by feeding a malicious URL to git clone. However, the affected URLs look rather suspicious; the likely vector would be through systems which automatically clone URLs not visible to the user, such as Git submodules, or package systems built around Git. The problem has been patched in the versions published on April 14th, 2020, going back to v2.17.x. Anyone wishing to backport the change further can do so by applying commit 9a6bbee (the full release includes extra checks for git fsck, but that commit is sufficient to protect clients against the vulnerability). The patched versions are: 2.17.4, 2.18.3, 2.19.4, 2.20.3, 2.21.2, 2.22.3, 2.23.2, 2.24.2, 2.25.3, 2.26.1.
CVSS metrics
7 scores · 6 sources · 2 versions- OSV · AlpineEcosystem advisory · calculated7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NDiffers
- OSV · Red hatEcosystem advisory · calculated7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NDiffers
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated9.3CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NDiffers
- NVDNIST7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NDiffers
EPSS trend
Probability
9.97%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
96%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
-0.08 pp
From 10.05% on 18-09-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in any of the 3 tracked catalogs.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root cause- CWE-20Improper Input ValidationThe product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
- CWE-522Insufficiently Protected CredentialsThe product transmits or stores authentication credentials, but it uses an insecure method that is susceptible to unauthorized interception and/or retrieval.
Affected systems
Suse61 products
- git&distro=HPE Helion OpenStack 8< 2.26.0-27.27.1
- git&distro=SUSE Enterprise Storage 5< 2.26.0-27.27.1
- git&distro=SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS< 2.16.4-3.20.1
- git&distro=SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS< 2.16.4-3.20.1
- git&distro=SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1< 2.16.4-3.20.1
Redhat43 products
- emacs-git< 0:1.8.3.1-22.el7_8
- emacs-git-el< 0:1.8.3.1-22.el7_8
- git< 0:1.8.3.1-22.el7_8 | < 0:2.18.2-2.el8_1 | < 0:2.18.2-2.el8_0
- git-all< 0:1.8.3.1-22.el7_8 | < 0:2.18.2-2.el8_1 | < 0:2.18.2-2.el8_0
- git-bzr< 0:1.8.3.1-22.el7_8
Debian2 products
- git< 1:2.26.1-1 | < 1:2.11.0-3+deb9u6 | < 1:2.20.1-2+deb10u2 | < 1:2.1.4-2.1+deb8u9
- debian_linuxEOL8.0 | 9.0 | 10.0
Opensuse2 products
- leapEOL15.1
- git&distro=openSUSE Leap 15.1< 2.16.4-lp151.4.6.1
Alpine1 product
- git≥ 2.22.0, < 2.22.3-r0 | ≥ 2.22.0, < 2.24.2-r0 | ≥ 2.22.0, < 2.26.1-r0 | ≥ 2.22.0, < 2.18.3-r0 | ≥ 2.22.0, < 2.20.3-r0
Canonical1 product
- ubuntu_linuxEOL16.04 | 18.04 | 19.10
Fedoraproject1 product
- fedoraEOL30 | 31 | 32
Git1 product
- git≥ 2.18.0, < 2.18.3 | ≥ 2.19.0, 2.19.4 (No fix recorded) | ≥ 2.20.0, < 2.20.3 | ≥ 2.21.0, < 2.21.2 | ≥ 2.23.0, < 2.23.2 | ≥ 2.24.0, < 2.24.2 | ≥ 2.25.0, < 2.25.3 | ≥ 2.26.0, < 2.26.1 | < 2.17.4 | ≥ 2.22.0, < 2.22.3
Git-scm1 product
- git≥ 2.18.0, < 2.18.3 | ≥ 2.19.0, < 2.19.4 | ≥ 2.20.0, < 2.20.3 | ≥ 2.21.0, < 2.21.2 | ≥ 2.23.0, < 2.23.2 | ≥ 2.24.0, < 2.24.2 | ≥ 2.25.0, < 2.25.3 | ≥ 2.26.0, < 2.26.1
Mageia1 product
- git< 2.21.2-1.mga7
Ubuntu1 product
- git< 1:2.7.4-0ubuntu1.8 | < 1:2.17.1-1ubuntu0.6
11 vendors · 115 products
References
45 links- github.com/git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-qm7j-c969-7j4qX Refsource CONFIRMAdvisoryARTICLEMitigationPatchThird Party Advisory
- github.com/git/git/commit/9a6bbee8006c24b46a85d29e7b38cfa79e9ab21bX Refsource MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
- lore.kernel.org/git/xmqqy2qy7xn8.fsf%40gitster.c.googlers.com/X Refsource MISC
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/04/msg00010.htmlMailing ListX Refsource MLISTThird Party Advisory
- packetstormsecurity.com/files/157250/Git-Credential-Helper-Protocol-Newline-Injection.htmlX Refsource MISCThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-04/msg00027.htmlVendor AdvisoryX Refsource SUSEThird Party Advisory
Show all 45 references
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00003.htmlVendor AdvisoryX Refsource SUSEThird Party Advisory
- lists.opensuse.org/archives/…Advisory