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CVE-2020-12278

27
FAUCET Score

CVE-2020-12278 is a critical vulnerability in libgit2 versions prior to 0.28.4 and 0.99.0, affecting Debian and other systems using libgit2. It stems from improper handling of NTFS Alternate Data Streams in path.c, which can lead to remote code execution when cloning a repository. With a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL), this vulnerability is easily exploitable over the network with no user interaction, potentially leading to complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Despite its high severity, there is currently no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), or significant community discussion or media coverage.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
< 0.28.4CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:libgit2:libgit2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
9.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.1

9.8CRITICAL

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

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
3.9
Impact Score
5.9
CvssVersion
3.1

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
5.11%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
91.5%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-28
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0511 is in the 86th percentile among its peer group of 36,897 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.1 Reddit, 0.3 Bluesky, 0.3 Mastodon, and 2.4 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.3 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (3)

github_advisorypatch availablevia nvd_reference
View patch
redhatvendor investigatingvia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Fixed in: libgit2
redhatvendor investigatingvia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Fixed in: libgit2

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2020-12278Low

libgit2: files inside the .git directory may be overwritten during cloning via NTFS Alternate Data Streams

Sep 18, 2019

References

github.com / git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-5wph-8frv-58vj
Third Party Advisory
github.com / libgit2/libgit2/commit/3f7851eadca36a99627ad78cbe56a40d3776ed01
PatchThird Party Advisory
github.com / libgit2/libgit2/commit/e1832eb20a7089f6383cfce474f213157f5300cb
PatchThird Party Advisory
github.com / libgit2/libgit2/releases/tag/v0.28.4
Release NotesThird Party Advisory
github.com / libgit2/libgit2/releases/tag/v0.99.0
Release NotesThird Party Advisory
lists.debian.org / debian-lts-announce/2022/03/msg00031.html
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
lists.debian.org / debian-lts-announce/2023/02/msg00034.html