CVE-2026-44471 gitoxide: Symlink prefix-reuse allows worktree escape during checkout
A malicious git tree allows attackers to write symlinks to arbitrary directories during checkout, bypassing path validation checks in gitoxide.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-44471?
CVE-2026-44471 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in GitoxideLabs gitoxide, published on 13 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
gitoxide is an implementation of git written in Rust. Prior to 0.21.1, a malicious tree can be constructed that will, when checked out with gitoxide, permit writing an attacker-controlled symlink into any existing directory the user has write access to. During checkout, all symlink index entries are deferred and created after regular files using a single shared gix_worktree::Stack. Internally, this uses a gix_fs::Stack. gix_fs::Stack::make_relative_path_current() caches validated path prefixes: when the previously-processed leaf component exactly matches the leading component(s) of the next path, the leaf-to-directory transition at gix-fs/src/stack.rs invokes only delegate.push_directory(), never delegate.push(). In gix_worktree::stack::delegate::StackDelegate, when the state member is State::CreateDirectoryAndAttributesStack, Attributes::push_directory() only loads attributes (from the ODB, in the clone case), and does not perform any other checks. The on-disk symlink_metadata() check and unlink-on-collision live in StackDelegate::push()'s invocation of create_leading_directory(), which is therefore bypassed for the cached prefix. The final symlink is created with plain std::os::unix::fs::symlink, which follows symlinks in parent directories. Therefore, it's possible to provide a tree with duplicate symlink and directory entries that exploits this. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.21.1.
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44471?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including gix-fs. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
gix-fs crates.io | All versions | 0.21.1 |
gix-fs crates.io | All versions | 0.21.1 |
Products include Gitoxidelabs Gix-Fs.
How do I fix CVE-2026-44471?
Upgrade gix-fs to 0.21.1 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-44471 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44471 exists.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-44471, GHSA-f89h-2fjh-2r9q, MINI-rc87-q9jv-5mh8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-44471.