CVE-2023-25815 | Git looks for localized messages in the wrong place

In Git for Windows, the Windows port of Git, no localized messages are shipped with the installer. As a consequence, Git is expected not to localize messages at all, and skips the gettext initialization. However, due to a change in MINGW-packages, the `gettext()` function's implicit initialization no longer uses the runtime prefix but uses the hard-coded path `C:\mingw64\share\locale` to look for localized messages. And since any authenticated user has the permission to create folders in `C:\` (and since `C:\mingw64` does not typically exist), it is possible for low-privilege users to place fake messages in that location where `git.exe` will pick them up in version 2.40.1. This vulnerability is relatively hard to exploit and requires social engineering. For example, a legitimate message at the end of a clone could be maliciously modified to ask the user to direct their web browser to a malicious website, and the user might think that the message comes from Git and is legitimate. It does require local write access by the attacker, though, which makes this attack vector less likely. Version 2.40.1 contains a patch for this issue. Some workarounds are available. Do not work on a Windows machine with shared accounts, or alternatively create a `C:\mingw64` folder and leave it empty. Users who have administrative rights may remove the permission to create folders in `C:\`.

Published: 2023-04-25 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-25815 is rated Low Risk (35.1/100): CVSS Low severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.05%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2023-25815

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 2026-06-15 0.10% 1.05% +0.96%
2 2025-03-17 0.04% 0.10% +0.05%
3 2023-04-26 0.04%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-25815

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.3 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
0.8 2.5 [email protected]
2.2 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
0.8 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-25815

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-25815

vendor priority summary link
alpine CVE-2023-25815: 1 source package rows (git); 7 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 7, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-25815
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-25815 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (git), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-25815
gentoo high CVE-2023-25815: 1 GLSA(s) (202312-15), 1 atom(s) (dev-vcs/git); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-25815
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-25815
suse high CVE-2023-25815 severity important: SUSE including 145 source package names (1.20-openssl:git-core-2.35.3-150300.10.27.1, 1.21:git-core-2.35.3-150300.10.27.1, …), 486 product×package rows across 59 product lines (Container bci/golang, Container bci/nodejs, … (59 product lines)): Fixed 431, Known Not Affected 55. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-25815/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-25815 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (git), 10 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 9, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-25815

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-25815

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
git_for_windows_project git_for_windows < 2.40.1 cpe:2.3:a:git_for_windows_project:git_for_windows:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 37 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 38 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-25815

URL Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/04/25/2 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://axcheron.github.io/exploit-101-format-strings/#writing-to-the-stack Product
https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/tag/v2.40.1.windows.1 Release Notes
https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/security/advisories/GHSA-9w66-8mq8-5vm8 Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/msys2/MINGW-packages/pull/10461 Issue Tracking Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/06/msg00018.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/PI7FZ4NNR5S5J5K6AMVQBH2JFP6NE4L7/ Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/RKOXOAZ42HLXHXTW6JZI4L5DAIYDTYCU/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/YFZWGQKB6MM5MNF2DLFTD7KS2KWPICKL/ Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/printf.html Product
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202312-15
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/09/msg00009.html
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