CVE-2026-44471 | gitoxide: Symlink prefix-reuse allows worktree escape during checkout

Exp

gitoxide is an implementation of git written in Rust. Prior to 0.21.1, a malicious tree can be constructed that will, when checked out with gitoxide, permit writing an attacker-controlled symlink into any existing directory the user has write access to. During checkout, all symlink index entries are deferred and created after regular files using a single shared gix_worktree::Stack. Internally, this uses a gix_fs::Stack. gix_fs::Stack::make_relative_path_current() caches validated path prefixes: when the previously-processed leaf component exactly matches the leading component(s) of the next path, the leaf-to-directory transition at gix-fs/src/stack.rs invokes only delegate.push_directory(), never delegate.push(). In gix_worktree::stack::delegate::StackDelegate, when the state member is State::CreateDirectoryAndAttributesStack, Attributes::push_directory() only loads attributes (from the ODB, in the clone case), and does not perform any other checks. The on-disk symlink_metadata() check and unlink-on-collision live in StackDelegate::push()'s invocation of create_leading_directory(), which is therefore bypassed for the cached prefix. The final symlink is created with plain std::os::unix::fs::symlink, which follows symlinks in parent directories. Therefore, it's possible to provide a tree with duplicate symlink and directory entries that exploits this. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.21.1.

Published: 2026-05-13 Last update: 2026-05-28 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-44471 is rated Exploit Available (50/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.01%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2026-44471

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-44471

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 2026-05-14 0.01%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-44471

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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: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.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-44471

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-44471

GHSA-f89h-2fjh-2r9q · Severity: high · Ecosystem: rust — gix-fs: Symlink prefix-reuse allows worktree escape during checkout

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-44471

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-44471 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (rust-gix-fs), 3 status rows across 3 suites (forky, sid, trixie): resolved 2, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-44471
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-44471 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (rust-gix-fs), 5 status rows across 5 suites (jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream): needs-triage 3, DNE 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-44471

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-44471

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gitoxidelabs gix-fs < 0.21.1 cpe:2.3:a:gitoxidelabs:gix-fs:*:*:*:*:*:rust:*:*

References for CVE-2026-44471

cvelogic Threat Intelligence