CVE-2023-4759

Improper handling of case insensitive filesystems in Eclipse JGit allows arbitrary file write

HIGH
8.8
CVSS Score
Published: September 12, 2023 at 09:12 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:38 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorJgit· also runs on 2 platforms

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Severity
HIGH8.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Arbitrary File Overwrite in Eclipse JGit <= 6.6.0 In Eclipse JGit, all versions <= 6.6.0.202305301015-r, a symbolic link present in a specially crafted git repository can be used to write a file to locations outside the working tree when this repository is cloned with JGit to a case-insensitive filesystem, or when a checkout from a clone of such a repository is performed on a case-insensitive filesystem. This can happen on checkout (DirCacheCheckout), merge (ResolveMerger via its WorkingTreeUpdater), pull (PullCommand using merge), and when applying a patch (PatchApplier). This can be exploited for remote code execution (RCE), for instance if the file written outside the working tree is a git filter that gets executed on a subsequent git command. The issue occurs only on case-insensitive filesystems, like the default filesystems on Windows and macOS. The user performing the clone or checkout must have the rights to create symbolic links for the problem to occur, and symbolic links must be enabled in the git configuration. Setting git configuration option core.symlinks = false before checking out avoids the problem. The issue was fixed in Eclipse JGit version 6.6.1.202309021850-r and 6.7.0.202309050840-r, available via Maven Central https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/org/eclipse/jgit/  and repo.eclipse.org https://repo.eclipse.org/content/repositories/jgit-releases/ . A backport is available in 5.13.3 starting from 5.13.3.202401111512-r. The JGit maintainers would like to thank RyotaK for finding and reporting this issue.

Affected

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

v ≤ 6.6.0.202305301015-rv < 5.13.3.202401111512-r0.0.0 ≤ v ≤ 6.6.0.202305301015-r6.6.0 ≤ v < 6.6.0.2023053010156.7.0 ≤ v < 6.7.0.2023090508400.0.05.13.3.202401111512-r
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.13.3.202401111512-r (unaffected)
Affected range stops below 6.6.0.202305301015, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 6.7.0.202309050840, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
apple-macos (environment) · microsoft-windows (environment)

Runs on — not affected

The affected product only carries this flaw when running on these platforms. The platforms themselves are not vulnerable.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

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

CVSS

8.8HIGHeclipse
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-59CWE-178

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