Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2018-10859
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedgit-annex is vulnerable to an Information Exposure when decrypting files. A malicious server for a special remote could trick git-annex into decrypting a file that was encrypted to the user's gpg key. This attack could be used to expose encrypted data that was never stored in git-annex
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidencegit-annex fails to properly validate decryption requests from special remote servers, allowing a malicious server to trick the client into decrypting GPG-encrypted files that were never actually stored in the git-annex repository. This enables information disclosure of encrypted data.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0all versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify git-annex is installedRun `git-annex version` or check with your package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l | grep git-annex` on Debian)Affected if git-annex is present on the system
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Determine installed git-annex versionRun `git-annex version` and note the version number shownAffected if The installed version is any version (vulnerability affects all versions according to the provided data)
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Identify configured special remotesRun `git-annex info` and look for listed remotes under 'remote name' and 'trust' settings. Alternatively, use `git remote -v` to list remotes and `git-annex info <remote>` for specific remote detailsAffected if One or more special remotes are configured, particularly untrusted or semi-trusted ones
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Check for encrypted content with special remotesRun `git-annex list` to see tracked files, then inspect which remotes hold the data with `git-annex whereis <file>` or `git-annex info`. Look for encrypted remotes in the outputAffected if Encrypted (GPG) files are configured to sync with special remotes
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Review remote trust levelsRun `git-annex trust` or examine `.git/config` for remote configuration entries to determine trust settings for special remotesAffected if Any special remote is set to untrusted or semi-trusted rather than trusted, or if you connect to special remotes you do not control
You are affected if git-annex is installed and configured to use special remotes (especially untrusted or third-party ones) with GPG-encrypted content, as a malicious remote could trigger decryption of files never actually stored in your repository.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate git-annex to a version that validates decryption requests to ensure only files legitimately stored in git-annex are decrypted, or implement server-side controls to only use trusted special remotes.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10859 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-10859 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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