CVE-2020-28086
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 · uneditedpass through 1.7.3 has a possibility of using a password for an unintended resource. For exploitation to occur, the user must do a git pull, decrypt a password, and log into a remote service with the password. If an attacker controls the central Git server or one of the other members' machines, and also controls one of the services already in the password store, they can rename one of the password files in the Git repository to something else: pass doesn't correctly verify that the content of a file matches the filename, so a user might be tricked into decrypting the wrong password and sending that to a service that the attacker controls. NOTE: for environments in which this threat model is of concern, signing commits can be a solution.
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 confidenceIn pass 1.7.3, the password manager doesn't verify that the content of an encrypted password file matches its filename. An attacker with git repository control can rename password files (e.g., rename github.gpg to amazon.gpg), causing users to decrypt and transmit the wrong password to an attacker-controlled service.
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<= 1.7.3CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Check pass versionRun `pass --version` or `pass --version` to display the installed version of the password storeAffected if Version is 1.7.3 or lower
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Verify git repository usageCheck if the password store is initialized with git by running `pass git status` or inspecting the `.git` directory in the password store path (typically `~/.password-store/.git`)Affected if The password store uses git for version control and file integrity is not independently verified
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Check for commit signing enforcementInspect git configuration for the password store: `cd ~/.password-store && git log --show-signature` or check if `gpg.conf` or similar configuration enforces signature verification on received commitsAffected if Commit signatures are not verified before decryption operations, allowing an attacker with repo control to tamper with filenames
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Inspect password file naming consistencyList password files with `pass` command and verify that each file's GPG ID corresponds to its intended service by examining `.gpg-id` files or running `pass git remote -v` to check repository originAffected if Password files could be renamed by an attacker with git repository write access, causing decryption of unintended credentials
You are affected if running pass version 1.7.3 or earlier with a git-backed password store where file rename operations by an attacker with repository control are not detected or prevented through commit signature verification.
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 dataEnable commit signing in the git repository and verify commit signatures before decrypting any passwords to ensure file integrity and prevent tampering.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-28086 — 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-2020-28086 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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