CVE-2023-25815

Message spoofing via hard-coded locale path

Published Apr 25, 2023 · Updated Nov 4, 2025

Path traversal in Git for Windows 2.40.0 and earlier allows local users to spoof Git messages through a shared system path. gettext() implicitly reads attacker-written catalogs from the hard-coded C:\mingw64\share\locale path instead of the runtime prefix. Exploitation requires local write access on a multi-user Windows machine and interaction with the deceptive text, which can redirect a victim to a malicious website.

CVSS severity3.3
Low
EPSS probability0.96%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Path traversal in Git for Windows 2.40.0 and earlier allows local users to spoof Git messages through a shared system path. gettext() implicitly reads attacker-written catalogs from the hard-coded C:\mingw64\share\locale path instead of the runtime prefix. Exploitation requires local write access on a multi-user Windows machine and interaction with the deceptive text, which can redirect a victim to a malicious website.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-25815
Published
Apr 25, 2023
Updated
Nov 4, 2025
Vendor
Git for Windows
Product
Git for Windows
Classifications
CWE-22, CWE-134, T1204.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 25, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 4, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=< 2.40.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Git for Windows · Git for Windowsversion=< 2.40.1

Published CVSS scores

3.3GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
2.2NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-134Use of Externally-Controlled Format String
T1204.001User Execution: Malicious Link

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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