Path Traversal in Libgit2

CVE-2026-53584

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.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 4.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (32.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 33rd percentile — 32.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-53584: held from 0.003 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.001

Affected products

  • Libgit2 — versions < 1.8.6, >= 1.9.0, < 1.9.5

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-53584?
CVE-2026-53584 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Libgit2, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 4.3/10. Published 2026-08-20.
How severe is CVE-2026-53584?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 4.3 out of 10.