GitHub Copilot CLI: Nested Bare Repository Can Execute Arbitrary Commands via core.fsmonitor

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

GitHub Copilot CLI brings AI-powered coding assistance directly to your command line. Prior to 1.0.43, a security vulnerability has been identified in GitHub Copilot CLI where a malicious bare git repository nested inside a project directory can achieve arbitrary code execution when the agent performs git operations. By exploiting git's automatic bare repository discovery during directory traversal, an attacker can set core.fsmonitor or other executable config keys to run arbitrary commands without user awareness or approval. The vulnerability arises because git's core.fsmonitor config key (and 15+ similar keys such as core.hookspath, diff.external, merge.tool, etc.) can specify arbitrary shell commands that git will execute as part of normal operations like status, diff, or rev-parse. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.0.43.

Source published

13 May 2026 15:45:26 UTC

Source modified

13 May 2026 18:38:57 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: cve-program · CVE Program Terms of Use. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 4.0 · 8.5 CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

GitHub Copilot CLI brings AI-powered coding assistance directly to your command line. Prior to 1.0.43, a security vulnerability has been identified in GitHub Copilot CLI where a malicious bare git repository nested inside a project directory can achieve arbitrary code execution when the agent performs git operations. By exploiting git's automatic bare repository discovery during directory traversal, an attacker can set core.fsmonitor or other executable config keys to run arbitrary commands without user awareness or approval. The vulnerability arises because git's core.fsmonitor config key (and 15+ similar keys such as core.hookspath, diff.external, merge.tool, etc.) can specify arbitrary shell commands that git will execute as part of normal operations like status, diff, or rev-parse. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.0.43.

Source published

May 13, 2026, 3:45:26 PM (timezone not stated)

Source modified

May 13, 2026, 6:38:57 PM (timezone not stated)

Observed here

7 Nov 2026 13:22:48 UTC

Source terms

ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: euvd · ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

EUVD CVSS 4.0 · 8.5 CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

GitHub Copilot CLI brings AI-powered coding assistance directly to your command line. Prior to 1.0.43, a security vulnerability has been identified in GitHub Copilot CLI where a malicious bare git repository nested inside a project directory can achieve arbitrary code execution when the agent performs git operations. By exploiting git's automatic bare repository discovery during directory traversal, an attacker can set core.fsmonitor or other executable config keys to run arbitrary commands without user awareness or approval. The vulnerability arises because git's core.fsmonitor config key (and 15+ similar keys such as core.hookspath, diff.external, merge.tool, etc.) can specify arbitrary shell commands that git will execute as part of normal operations like status, diff, or rev-parse. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.0.43.

Source published

13 May 2026 16:17:00 UTC

Source modified

26 Oct 2026 17:10:03 UTC

Observed here

27 Oct 2026 11:12:23 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 4.0 · [email protected] · Secondary · 8.5 CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Primary · 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

## Summary A security vulnerability has been identified in GitHub Copilot CLI where a malicious bare git repository nested inside a project directory can achieve arbitrary code execution when the agent performs git operations. By exploiting git's automatic bare repository discovery during directory traversal, an attacker can set `core.fsmonitor` or other executable config keys to run arbitrary commands without user awareness or approval. ## Details Git supports bare repositories — repositories without a working tree — which can be discovered automatically when git traverses the directory hierarchy looking for a `.git` directory. When git discovers a bare repository, it reads and applies its configuration, including keys that specify external commands to execute. The vulnerability arises because git's `core.fsmonitor` config key (and 15+ similar keys such as `core.hookspath`, `diff.external`, `merge.tool`, etc.) can specify arbitrary shell commands that git will execute as part of normal operations like `status`, `diff`, or `rev-parse`. ### Attack Scenario An attacker can exploit this by: 1. Creating a bare git repository nested inside a seemingly normal project directory (e.g., `vendor/malicious.git/` or a deeply nested subdirectory) 2. Configuring `core.fsmonitor` (or similar keys) in that bare repository to execute a malicious command 3. When GitHub Copilot CLI performs any git operation that traverses into or through that directory, git auto-discovers the bare repository, reads its config, and executes the attacker's command This can occur when: - The agent navigates into a subdirectory containing the buried bare repo - The agent runs `git status`, `git diff`, or other routine git commands - The agent uses tools like `grep` or `glob` that may trigger git operations in subdirectories Prior to the fix, the CLI had no protection against git auto-discovering bare repositories during directory traversal. ## Impact An attacker who can place a malicious bare repository inside a project — for example, through: - A pull request adding a directory that contains a bare repository - A compromised or malicious dependency that includes a bare repository - A cloned repository that already contains nested bare repositories — could achieve arbitrary code execution on the user's workstation whenever GitHub Copilot CLI performs git operations in or near the malicious directory. Successful exploitation could lead to data exfiltration, credential theft, file modification, or further system compromise. ## Affected Versions - GitHub Copilot CLI versions prior to 1.0.42 ## Remediation and Mitigation ### Fix The fix sets `safe.bareRepository=explicit` via git's `GIT_CONFIG_COUNT` / `GIT_CONFIG_KEY_*` / `GIT_CONFIG_VALUE_*` environment variable mechanism, which has the highest precedence over all config file sources. This prevents git from automatically discovering and using bare repositories during directory traversal — only explicitly allowlisted bare repositories will be used. ### User Actions 1. **Upgrade** GitHub Copilot CLI to **1.0.43** or later. 2. **Exercise caution** when working in repositories that contain nested bare git repositories. 3. **Review** project directories for unexpected bare repositories, especially in `vendor/`, `third_party/`, or deeply nested subdirectories.

Source published

11 May 2026 16:16:06 UTC

Source modified

10 Sep 2026 03:51:05 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:17:17 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS_V4 · CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Publisher rating · HIGH