CVE-2023-29011

Git for Windows's config file of `connect.exe` is susceptible to malicious placing

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: April 25, 2023 at 08:40 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 05:49 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsGit for WindowsGit

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.4%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Git for Windows, the Windows port of Git, ships with an executable called `connect.exe`, which implements a SOCKS5 proxy that can be used to connect e.g. to SSH servers via proxies when certain ports are blocked for outgoing connections. The location of `connect.exe`'s config file is hard-coded as `/etc/connectrc` which will typically be interpreted as `C:\etc\connectrc`. Since `C:\etc` can be created by any authenticated user, this makes `connect.exe` susceptible to malicious files being placed there by other users on the same multi-user machine. The problem has been patched in Git for Windows v2.40.1. As a workaround, create the folder `etc` on all drives where Git commands are run, and remove read/write access from those folders. Alternatively, watch out for malicious `<drive>:\etc\connectrc` files on multi-user machines.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 2.40.1
Affected range stops below 2.40.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 2.40.1
Affected range stops below 2.40.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-427

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