GitPython is a python library used to interact with Git repositories. In order to resolve some git references, GitPython reads files from the .git directory, in some places the name of the file being read is provided by the user, GitPython doesn't check if this file is located outside the .git directory. This allows an attacker to make GitPython read any file from the system. This vulnerability is present in https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/blob/1c8310d7cae144f74a671cbe17e51f63a830adbf/git/refs/symbolic.py#L174-L175. That code joins the base directory with a user given string without checking if the final path is located outside the base directory. This vulnerability cannot be used to read the contents of files but could in theory be used to trigger a denial of service for the program. This issue has been addressed in version 3.1.37.
CVE-2023-41040
This medium-severity CVE scores 4.0 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.4%, top 42% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 6.5
- EG Score
- 4.0(medium)
- EPSS
- 59.1%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
August 30, 2023
Last Modified
June 17, 2026
References (12)
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/blob/1c8310d7cae144f74a671cbe17e51f63a830adbf/git/refs/symbolic.py#L174-L175
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/commit/74e55ee4544867e1bd976b7df5a45869ee397b0b
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/commit/e98f57b81f792f0f5e18d33ee658ae395f9aa3c4
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/pull/1672
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/releases/tag/3.1.37
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/security/advisories/GHSA-cwvm-v4w8-q58c
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/gitpython/PYSEC-2023-165.yaml
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/09/msg00036.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/blob/1c8310d7cae144f74a671cbe17e51f63a830adbf/git/refs/symbolic.py#L174-L175
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/gitpython-developers/GitPython/security/advisories/GHSA-cwvm-v4w8-q58c
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/09/msg00036.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/10/msg00030.html
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2023-41040(1)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Patch Availability(5)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| redhat | automation-controller-0:4.5.5-2.el9ap | 2024-04-02 | redhat |
| redhat | python-gitpython-0:3.1.40-1.el9ap | 2024-01-22 | redhat |
| redhat | GitPython-0:3.1.14-2.el8ost | 2024-01-16 | redhat |
| redhat | GitPython-0:3.1.14-2.el9ost | 2024-01-16 | redhat |
| redhat | python-gitpython-0:3.1.40-0.1.el8pc | 2023-12-14 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Affected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
PyPI(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| gitpython | 0.1.7 ... 3.1.9 (88 versions) | 3.1.35 | — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(4)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 8× in last 7d / 47× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-11 08:26 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-11 08:26 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-09 19:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-08 15:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-07 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 16:26 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-07-06 02:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-05 02:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-04 06:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 15:05 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-30 23:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-30 23:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 04:55 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 04:55 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-27 11:34 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-27 03:07 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-27 03:07 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-24 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-24 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-24 06:21 UTCNVD updateCVSS v3 → 6.5
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- 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-22 14:24 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-21 14:55 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-21 01:58 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-19 19:24 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-19 19:24 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-18 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-17 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-17 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-16 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-16 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-15 17:47 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-14 23:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-13 22:59 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-11 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-11 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 22:17 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 13:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 13:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-09 22:17 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-08 14:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-08 14:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:46 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-05 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-04 13:11 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-04 13:11 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-02 20:12 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-02 20:12 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:30 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-29 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-29 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:39 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:39 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:18 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:18 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:18 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-24 18:29 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-24 18:29 UTCVendor advisory
Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)
Same vendor
10 shownredhat
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2023-41040?
When was CVE-2023-41040 disclosed?
Is CVE-2023-41040 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-41040?
How do I remediate CVE-2023-41040?
Dependency Blast Radius
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