Arbitrary symlink creation via cached prefix reuse
Published May 13, 2026 · Updated May 13, 2026
Link following in gix-fs before 0.21.1 allows local users to create attacker-controlled symlinks outside a checked-out worktree. Stack::make_relative_path_current reuses a cached leaf as the next path prefix and calls push_directory instead of push, bypassing the metadata and collision checks before creating a Unix symlink. Exploitation requires checkout of a malicious tree containing duplicate symlink and directory entries, and writes are limited to existing directories writable by the checkout user.
Summary
What happened
Link following in gix-fs before 0.21.1 allows local users to create attacker-controlled symlinks outside a checked-out worktree. Stack::make_relative_path_current reuses a cached leaf as the next path prefix and calls push_directory instead of push, bypassing the metadata and collision checks before creating a Unix symlink. Exploitation requires checkout of a malicious tree containing duplicate symlink and directory entries, and writes are limited to existing directories writable by the checkout user.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-44471
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Updated
- May 13, 2026
- Vendor
- GitoxideLabs
- Product
- gitoxide
- Classifications
- CWE-59
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 13, 2026Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 0.21.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- build-bad-repo.sh proof of conceptfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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