CVE-2020-5260Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Credential theft via newline protocol injection

Published Apr 14, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Credential exposure in Git allows remote attackers to steal stored credentials through an attacker-controlled clone or submodule URL. credential_write_item in credential.c blindly writes percent-decoded URL values containing newlines into the line-based credential-helper protocol, allowing injected host fields to redirect a credential lookup. Exploitation requires Git to process the malicious URL while a credential helper holds reusable credentials, which are then sent to an attacker-controlled host.

CVSS severity9.3
Critical
EPSS probability10.05%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Credential exposure in Git allows remote attackers to steal stored credentials through an attacker-controlled clone or submodule URL. credential_write_item in credential.c blindly writes percent-decoded URL values containing newlines into the line-based credential-helper protocol, allowing injected host fields to redirect a credential lookup. Exploitation requires Git to process the malicious URL while a credential helper holds reusable credentials, which are then sent to an attacker-controlled host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5260
Published
Apr 14, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Git
Product
Git
Classifications
T1555
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 14, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 2.17.4
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 2.18.0, < 2.18.3
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 2.19.0, 2.19.4
  4. Affected versionversion=>= 2.20.0, < 2.20.3
  5. Affected versionversion=>= 2.21.0, < 2.21.2
  6. Affected versionversion=>= 2.22.0, < 2.22.3
  7. Affected versionversion=>= 2.23.0, < 2.23.2
  8. Affected versionversion=>= 2.24.0, < 2.24.2
  9. Affected versionversion=>= 2.25.0, < 2.25.3
  10. Affected versionversion=>= 2.26.0, < 2.26.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Git · Gitversion=< 2.17.4; version=>= 2.18.0, < 2.18.3; version=>= 2.19.0, 2.19.4; version=>= 2.20.0, < 2.20.3; version=>= 2.21.0, < 2.21.2; version=>= 2.22.0, < 2.22.3; version=>= 2.23.0, < 2.23.2; version=>= 2.24.0, < 2.24.2; version=>= 2.25.0, < 2.25.3; version=>= 2.26.0, < 2.26.1

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
9.3GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1555Credentials from Password Stores

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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