CVE-2025-21613: go-git has an Argument Injection via the URL field

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 1.3%, percentile 70: FIRST’s model estimates a 1.3% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 70% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes gopkg.in/src-d/go-git.v4 (Go) >= 4.0.0, <= 4.13.1, no fixed version listed; github.com/go-git/go-git/v5 (Go) < 5.13.0, fixed in 5.13.0. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

go-git is a highly extensible git implementation library written in pure Go. An argument injection vulnerability was discovered in go-git versions prior to v5.13. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to set arbitrary values to git-upload-pack flags. This only happens when the file transport protocol is being used, as that is the only protocol that shells out to git binaries. This vulnerability is fixed in 5.13.0.

From the GitHub advisory

Impact An argument injection vulnerability was discovered in go-git versions prior to v5.13.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to set arbitrary values to git-upload-pack flags. This only happens when the file transport protocol is being used, as that is the only protocol that shells out to git binaries.

Affected versions Users running versions of go-git from v4 and above are recommended to upgrade to v5.13 in order to mitigate this vulnerability.

Workarounds In cases where a bump to the latest version of go-git is not possible, we recommend users to enforce restrict validation rules for values passed in the URL field.

Credit Thanks to @vin01 for responsibly disclosing this vulnerability to us.

Weakness type: CWE-88.

Product: gopkg.in/src-d/go-git.v4 (Go) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2025-01-06

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Attack requirements: present (depends on deployment conditions)
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 1.28% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 70.

Timeline

• 2025-01-06 — CVE record last updated
• 2025-01-06 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2025-01-06 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-v725-9546-7q7m published (critical)

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-v725-9546-7q7m github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2025-21613 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2025-21613 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com

Critical Go advisories · Today’s Security Digest