CVE-2026-5917

Description

libgit2 versions before 1.8.7 and 1.9.0 before 1.9.7 built with the libssh2 SSH backend (USE_SSH=libssh2) contain a shell command injection vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on an SSH server by supplying a repository path containing unescaped shell metacharacters such as single quotes, semicolons, or pipes. The gen_proto() function in ssh_libssh2.c inserts the repository path directly into a shell command string without escaping special characters before passing it to libssh2_channel_exec(), enabling an attacker to craft a malicious submodule URL in a .gitmodules file that, when processed during a recursive clone, causes the remote server's shell to interpret injected commands under the victim's SSH user account.

Read the notes from the security team

Status

Show unmaintained releases

Package	Ubuntu Release	Status
libgit2	26.04 LTS resolute	Vulnerable
	24.04 LTS noble	Vulnerable
	22.04 LTS jammy	Vulnerable
	20.04 LTS focal	Vulnerable
	18.04 LTS bionic	Vulnerable
	16.04 LTS xenial	Vulnerable
	14.04 LTS trusty	Not affected

Notes

kkernick

Trusty does not compile the SSH backend, and is thus not affected

Patch details

For informational purposes only. We recommend not to cherry-pick updates. How can I get the fixes?

Package	Patch details
libgit2	Upstream: b2105b8

Severity score breakdown

CVSS version:

Base score 8.6 · High

Base metrics

Parameter	Value
Attack vector	Network
Attack complexity	Low
Attack requirements	None
Privileges required	None
User interaction	Active
Vulnerable system - Confidentiality impact	High
Vulnerable system - Integrity impact	High
Vulnerable system - Availability impact	High
Subsequent system - Confidentiality impact	None
Subsequent system - Integrity impact	None
Subsequent system - Availability impact	None

Scores

Parameter	Value
Base score	8.6 · High
Base + Threat score	-
Base + Environmental score	-
Base + Threat + Environmental score	-

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Base score 8.8 · High

Base metrics

Parameter	Value
Attack vector	Network
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges required	None
User interaction	Required
Scope	Unchanged
Confidentiality impact	High
Integrity impact	High
Availability impact	High

Scores

Parameter	Value
Base score	8.8 · High
Exploitability score	-
Impact score	-

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Cvss 3 Severity Score