CVE-2026-53584 libgit2: Submodule path traversal
Attackers can create directories outside the repository working tree via crafted submodule paths in libgit2, requiring an upgrade to fix.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-53584?
CVE-2026-53584 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in libgit2, published on 20 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
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.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53584?
How do I fix CVE-2026-53584?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-53584 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53584 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-96974, BELL-CVE-2026-53584, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53584, ECHO-922d-f336-ad57, GHSA-cw77-j82w-mchm, JLSEC-2026-1370 and 1 more.