CVE-2018-11235

In Git before 2.13.7, 2.14.x before 2.14.4, 2.15.x before 2.15.2, 2.16.x before 2.16.4, and 2.17.x before 2.17.1, remote code execution can occur. With a crafted .gitmodules file, a malicious project can execute an arbitrary script on a machine that runs "git clone --recurse-submodules" because submodule "names" are obtained from this file, and then appended to $GIT_DIR/modules, leading to directory traversal with "../" in a name. Finally, post-checkout hooks from a submodule are executed, bypassing the intended design in which hooks are not obtained from a remote server.

CVSS: 7.8High
Exploited in the wild: Not knownUnvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub; not in CISA KEV
EPSS: 47.4%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix: Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
Published: 30 May 2018analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Summary

Triage

Attack surface: Server-side
Exploitable: At runtime
Attack vector: local
Weakness: CWE-22 Path Traversal
Can a WAF block it?: No. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Products named in our analysis

debian:debian_linux
canonical:ubuntu_linux
redhat:enterprise_linux
redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop
redhat:enterprise_linux_server
redhat:enterprise_linux_server_eus
redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation
git-scm:git
gitforwindows:git

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? No. The attack needs local access to the machine, so a WAF is not on its path.

Also consider: canonical path validation

Based on the attack vector (local or physical access). We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog: Not listed as of our last sync.
Public exploit code: Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 15 GitHub proofs of concept

GitHub proofs of concept

Rogdham/CVE-2018-1123548 stars
CHYbeta/CVE-2018-11235-DEMO14 stars
qweraqq/CVE-2018-11235-Git-Submodule-CE3 stars
j4k0m/CVE-2018-112352 stars

and 11 more repositories

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

30 May 2018First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted)
30 May 2018Publishedsame day later
5 Aug 2024CVE record last updated2,259 days (about 6 years) later
12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com829 days (about 2 years) later

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Metric	Value	What it means
Attack vector	LocalLocal access required (shell, logged-in user).	Local access required (shell, logged-in user).
Attack complexity	LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.	Repeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges required	NoneThe attacker needs no prior access.	The attacker needs no prior access.
User interaction	RequiredA victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate.	A victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate.
Scope	UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.	Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality	HighTotal data disclosure possible.	Total data disclosure possible.
Integrity	HighComplete modification possible.	Complete modification possible.
Availability	HighFull outage possible.	Full outage possible.

Common questions

Is CVE-2018-11235 being exploited?

Not confirmed. CVE-2018-11235 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 47% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How severe is CVE-2018-11235?

CVE-2018-11235 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2018-11235?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2018-11235. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2018-11235 affect?

CVE-2018-11235 affects debian:debian_linux, canonical:ubuntu_linux, redhat:enterprise_linux, redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop, and 5 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVD CVE.org CVE Details Source

11 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Advisories (6)

access.redhat.com /errata/RHSA-2018:2147
usn.ubuntu.com /3671-1/
access.redhat.com /errata/RHSA-2018:1957
security.gentoo.org /glsa/201805-13
debian.org /security/2018/dsa-4212
lists.opensuse.org /opensuse-security-announce/2020-05/msg00003.html

Exploits (1)

exploit-db.com /exploits/44822/

Where the data on this page comes from

CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
NVD: CVSS and CPE data
FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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