---
title: "Git CVE-2025-48384: Recursive Clone Runs Attacker Hooks"
url: https://erroneo.us/security/briefs/git-cve-2025-48384-submodule-carriage-return-rce/
description: "A trailing carriage return in a submodule path lets a malicious repo run code on recursive clone on macOS/Linux. Fixed in Git 2.50.1 and backports. In KEV."
type: security-brief
section: "Security Digest"
date_published: 2025-07-08
date_modified: 2026-10-23
publisher: erroneo.us
author: erroneo.us Security Desk
verdict: "Check exposure"
cves: ["CVE-2025-48384"]
severity: "high"
exploited: "in-the-wild"
kev: true
license: All rights reserved. Quote with attribution and a link.
---

# Git CVE-2025-48384: Recursive Clone Runs Attacker Hooks

**Verdict: Check exposure.** Most developer machines picked up the fix in 2025, but stale Git in CI images, build servers and unmanaged Macs is still exposed to a lure-based attack that has been used in the wild; check versions and stop recursive clones of untrusted repos.

- **Who must act:** Teams with macOS or Linux developer machines, CI runners or container images carrying Git older than the fixed releases, and anyone who clones third-party repositories with --recursive or via tools that do so by default.
- **Who can relax:** Windows users of Git for Windows, which the discoverer says is not directly vulnerable, and hosts already on Git 2.50.1 or later or a fixed distribution package.
- **Affected:** Git before 2.43.7; Git 2.44.x before 2.44.4, 2.45.x before 2.45.4, 2.46.x before 2.46.4; Git 2.47.x before 2.47.3, 2.48.x before 2.48.2, 2.49.x before 2.49.1, 2.50.0; GitHub Desktop before 3.5.1 on macOS; Apple Git in Xcode before Xcode 26
- **Fixed:** Git 2.43.7, 2.44.4, 2.45.4, 2.46.4, 2.47.3, 2.48.2, 2.49.1, 2.50.1 and later releases; Ubuntu USN-7626-1 (for example 24.04: 1:2.43.0-1ubuntu7.3; 22.04: 1:2.34.1-1ubuntu1.13); GitHub Desktop 3.5.1 (embedded Git 2.47.3); Xcode 26 (Apple Git)
- **CVEs:** CVE-2025-48384
- **CISA KEV:** yes · **Exploitation:** Exploited in the wild

## What to do

1. Run git --version (and which -a git on macOS) on developer machines, CI runners and build images; on distro packages, check the package version instead (dpkg -l git or rpm -q git).
2. Upgrade to Git 2.50.1 or a later release, a fixed maintenance release, or your distribution's patched package.
3. On macOS, update Xcode or the Command Line Tools to 26 or later and GitHub Desktop to 3.5.1 or later; make sure the git first in PATH is a fixed one.
4. Rebuild CI runner and container images that bundle Git rather than relying on host updates.
5. Do not clone untrusted repositories with --recursive or --recurse-submodules; clone, inspect .gitmodules, then run git submodule update --init.

### How to check if you are affected

- Look for executable hooks without a .sample suffix under .git/modules/*/hooks/ in recently cloned repositories.
- Search working copies for files or directories whose names contain a carriage return, which CrowdStrike uses as an exploitation signal.
- Check EDR telemetry for git writing a post-checkout hook and then a shell or Python process running from a hooks directory, and for post-checkout scripts referencing hooks/vm.tf or hooks/mongodb.hook.js.
- Review which third-party repositories developers cloned recursively, especially ones received through job offers, chat or email.

## What happened

On July 8, 2025, the Git project released 2.50.1 and seven maintenance releases fixing CVE-2025-48384 ([GHSA-vwqx-4fm8-6qc9](https://github.com/git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-vwqx-4fm8-6qc9), CVSS 3.1 8.0 per GitHub's advisory). When Git reads a config value it strips a trailing carriage return (CR), but when it writes one ending in CR it does not quote it, so the CR is lost on the next read. A malicious repository can give a submodule a path ending in CR. During a recursive clone, Git validates one path but checks the submodule out to another. If the repo also holds a symlink from that altered path into the submodule's hooks directory, an attacker-supplied `post-checkout` hook runs on the victim's machine.

David Leadbeater, credited with the fix, [explained it](https://dgl.cx/2025/07/git-clone-submodule-cve-2025-48384) on July 9. It needs a platform that allows control characters in file names, so macOS and Linux are exposed and Windows "is not directly vulnerable". [Datadog](https://securitylabs.datadoghq.com/articles/git-arbitrary-file-write/) validated public proofs of concept within days. CISA added the CVE to the [KEV catalog](https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-48384) on August 25, 2025, though [SecurityWeek](https://www.securityweek.com/organizations-warned-of-exploited-git-vulnerability/) found no public reports of the attacks at the time. In October 2025 [CrowdStrike](https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/blog/crowdstrike-falcon-blocks-git-vulnerability-cve-2025-48384) reported active exploitation that paired social engineering with malicious repositories. A `post-checkout` hook used Python to run a first stage named `hooks/vm.tf`, unpacked a TAR into `/tmp`, and then deleted the submodule files. No actor has been named.

## Who is affected

Affected: Git before 2.43.7, and each later line before 2.44.4, 2.45.4, 2.46.4, 2.47.3, 2.48.2, 2.49.1 or 2.50.1. Later releases include the fix. Distributions backported it without changing the base version. Ubuntu 24.04's fixed package is `1:2.43.0-1ubuntu7.3` ([USN-7626-1](https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-48384)), so `git --version` alone can mislead. [GitHub Desktop 3.5.1](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/releases/tag/release-3.5.1) moved its embedded Git to 2.47.3; it clones recursively by default. Apple fixed its bundled Git in [Xcode 26](https://support.apple.com/en-us/125117) on September 15, 2025.

## Do you really need to act?

The attack needs a victim to clone a hostile repository recursively. That is a lure, not a worm, but a cheap one: developers clone strangers' repositories all the time. Patched laptops are fine. The leftovers are older CI and container images, long-lived build servers, and Macs that run Apple's Git without Xcode updates. On a CI runner the hook runs with the runner's secrets in reach.

## What to do now

1. Check versions everywhere: `git --version`, plus `which -a git` on macOS. For distro packages, use `dpkg -l git` or `rpm -q git` and compare with your vendor's advisory.
2. Upgrade to Git 2.50.1 or later, a fixed maintenance release, or the patched distro package.
3. On macOS, update Xcode or the Command Line Tools to 26 or later, and GitHub Desktop to 3.5.1 or later.
4. Rebuild CI runner and container images that bundle Git.
5. Never clone untrusted repositories with `--recursive`, as [GitHub's announcement](https://github.blog/open-source/git/git-security-vulnerabilities-announced-6/) advises. Clone, read `.gitmodules`, then run `git submodule update --init`.

## How to tell if you were hit

List non-sample hooks in submodule metadata with `find ~/src -path '*/.git/modules/*/hooks/*' -type f ! -name '*.sample'`. Find names containing a carriage return with `find ~/src -name "*$(printf '\r')*"`. In EDR, look for `git` writing a `post-checkout` hook followed by a shell or Python child running from a hooks directory. CrowdStrike also flags hook scripts referencing `hooks/vm.tf` or `hooks/mongodb.hook.js`. If a developer ran a recursive clone from a recruiter or stranger, treat the machine as compromised and rotate its SSH keys, tokens and cloud credentials.

## Timeline

- Jul 8, 2025 — Git 2.50.1 and maintenance releases ship; GitHub Desktop 3.5.1 updates its embedded Git.
- Jul 9, 2025 — David Leadbeater publishes technical details; Datadog follows on July 10 and confirms public proofs of concept work.
- Aug 25, 2025 — CISA adds CVE-2025-48384 to KEV (due September 15, 2025).
- Sep 15, 2025 — Apple fixes its bundled Git in Xcode 26.
- Oct 16, 2025 — CrowdStrike reports active exploitation via social engineering.

## Sources

1. [Git / GitHub — GHSA-vwqx-4fm8-6qc9: Arbitrary code execution through broken config quoting](https://github.com/git/git/security/advisories/GHSA-vwqx-4fm8-6qc9)
2. [CVE record — CVE-2025-48384](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-48384)
3. [NVD — CVE-2025-48384](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-48384)
4. [CISA — Known Exploited Vulnerabilities: CVE-2025-48384](https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-48384)
5. [David Leadbeater (dgl.cx) — CVE-2025-48384 write-up](https://dgl.cx/2025/07/git-clone-submodule-cve-2025-48384)
6. [GitHub Blog — Git security vulnerabilities announced (July 2025)](https://github.blog/open-source/git/git-security-vulnerabilities-announced-6/)
7. [GitHub Desktop — Release 3.5.1](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/releases/tag/release-3.5.1)
8. [Apple — About the security content of Xcode 26](https://support.apple.com/en-us/125117)
9. [Ubuntu — CVE-2025-48384](https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-48384)
10. [Datadog Security Labs — Git CLI arbitrary file write (CVE-2025-48384)](https://securitylabs.datadoghq.com/articles/git-arbitrary-file-write/)
11. [CrowdStrike — Falcon defends against Git vulnerability CVE-2025-48384](https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/blog/crowdstrike-falcon-blocks-git-vulnerability-cve-2025-48384)
12. [SecurityWeek — Organizations warned of exploited Git vulnerability](https://www.securityweek.com/organizations-warned-of-exploited-git-vulnerability/)

---
Source page: https://erroneo.us/security/briefs/git-cve-2025-48384-submodule-carriage-return-rce/ · Security Digest: https://erroneo.us/security/ · More: https://erroneo.us/llms.txt