CVE-2021-29468 | Arbitrary code execution when checking out an attacker-controlled Git branch

Cygwin Git is a patch set for the git command line tool for the cygwin environment. A specially crafted repository that contains symbolic links as well as files with backslash characters in the file name may cause just-checked out code to be executed while checking out a repository using Git on Cygwin. The problem will be patched in the Cygwin Git v2.31.1-2 release. At time of writing, the vulnerability is present in the upstream Git source code; any Cygwin user who compiles Git for themselves from upstream sources should manually apply a patch to mitigate the vulnerability. As mitigation users should not clone or pull from repositories from untrusted sources. CVE-2019-1354 was an equivalent vulnerability in Git for Visual Studio.

Published: 2021-04-29 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-29468 is rated Moderate Risk (58.6/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.55%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-29468

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-21 0.58% 0.55% -0.03%
2 2025-11-18 0.55% 0.58% +0.03%
3 2025-04-22 — 0.55% —

Full EPSS history (15 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-29468

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
6.8 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-29468

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-29468

vendor priority summary link
alpine high CVE-2021-29468: 1 source package rows (git); 40 state rows across 8 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 40, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2021-29468

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-29468

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cygwin git <= 2.31.1-1 cpe:2.3:a:cygwin:git:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-29468

cvelogic Threat Intelligence