dbcve.org
Git For WindowsApplication · Git For Windows Project

CVE-2023-29011

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.40.1 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
Git for Windows, the Windows port of Git, ships with an executable called `connect.exe`, which implements a SOCKS5 proxy that can be used to connect e.g. to SSH servers via proxies when certain ports are blocked for outgoing connections. The location of `connect.exe`'s config file is hard-coded as `/etc/connectrc` which will typically be interpreted as `C:\etc\connectrc`. Since `C:\etc` can be created by any authenticated user, this makes `connect.exe` susceptible to malicious files being placed there by other users on the same multi-user machine. The problem has been patched in Git for Windows v2.40.1. As a workaround, create the folder `etc` on all drives where Git commands are run, and remove read/write access from those folders. Alternatively, watch out for malicious `<drive>:\etc\connectrc` files on multi-user machines.

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 · high confidence

Git for Windows ships with connect.exe (SOCKS5 proxy) that reads its config from a hardcoded path /etc/connectrc (interpreted as C:\etc\connectrc on Windows). Since any authenticated user can create the C:\etc directory, an unprivileged attacker can place a malicious config file that connect.exe will execute when run by another user, enabling local privilege escalation on multi-user machines.

MitigationUpdate Git for Windows to v2.40.1 or later, which patches the hardcoded config path vulnerability. As a workaround, create the C:\etc folder and remove read/write permissions from all users.

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
Git For WindowsApplication
Affected:< 2.40.1

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Find Git for Windows installation path and version
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: git --version. This displays the installed Git for Windows version. Also locate the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Git or C:\Program Files (x86)\Git).
    Affected if Git for Windows version is lower than 2.40.1 and the installation includes the connect.exe utility.
  2. Locate connect.exe in the Git for Windows installation
    Navigate to the Git installation directory and search for connect.exe. Typical paths include C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin\connect.exe or within the bin folder of the Git installation. Use: dir /s C:\Program Files\Git\connect.exe
    Affected if connect.exe exists in the Git for Windows installation directory, enabling the SOCKS5 proxy functionality.
  3. Check if C:\etc folder exists
    Open Command Prompt and run: dir C:\etc or check if the directory exists via PowerShell: Test-Path C:\etc
    Affected if The C:\etc directory exists on the system, which allows an unprivileged authenticated user to potentially write files to it.
  4. Inspect C:\etc\connectrc file permissions and content
    If C:\etc exists, run: icacls C:\etc\connectrc to check permissions, and type C:\etc\connectrc to view its contents. Verify if any untrusted users have write access.
    Affected if A connectrc config file exists in C:\etc with weak permissions that allow modification by non-privileged users, or if the C:\etc folder itself permits any authenticated user to create files.

Your environment is affected if Git for Windows version is below 2.40.1 and the connect.exe utility is present, especially if the C:\etc directory exists with permissive access controls that allow authenticated users to write files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.40.1 or later
Fixed in 2.40.1
Interim mitigation

Update Git for Windows to v2.40.1 or later, which patches the hardcoded config path vulnerability. As a workaround, create the C:\etc folder and remove read/write permissions from all users.

Recommended fix High confidence

Git for Windows 2.40.1

  1. Download Git for Windows version 2.40.1 or later from the official Git website (git-scm.com) or GitHub releases page
  2. Run the installer with appropriate administrator privileges
  3. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
  4. Verify the installed version by running 'git --version' in Command Prompt or PowerShell to confirm it shows 2.40.1 or higher

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Git For Windows Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-29011 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-29011 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data