Git is an open-source distributed revision control system. In affected versions of Git a specially crafted repository that contains symbolic links as well as files using a clean/smudge filter such as Git LFS, may cause just-checked out script to be executed while cloning onto a case-insensitive file system such as NTFS, HFS+ or APFS (i.e. the default file systems on Windows and macOS). Note that clean/smudge filters have to be configured for that. Git for Windows configures Git LFS by default, and is therefore vulnerable. The problem has been patched in the versions published on Tuesday, March 9th, 2021. As a workaound, if symbolic link support is disabled in Git (e.g. via git config --global core.symlinks false), the described attack won't work. Likewise, if no clean/smudge filters such as Git LFS are configured globally (i.e. before cloning), the attack is foiled. As always, it is best to avoid cloning repositories from untrusted sources. The earliest impacted version is 2.14.2. The fix versions are: 2.30.1, 2.29.3, 2.28.1, 2.27.1, 2.26.3, 2.25.5, 2.24.4, 2.23.4, 2.22.5, 2.21.4, 2.20.5, 2.19.6, 2.18.5, 2.17.62.17.6.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| git-scm / git | - | 2.14.2.x |
| git-scm / git | 2.25.0 | 2.25.5 |
| git-scm / git | 2.24.0 | 2.24.4 |
| git-scm / git | 2.23.0 | 2.23.4 |
| git-scm / git | 2.22.0 | 2.22.5 |
| git-scm / git | 2.21.0 | 2.21.4 |
| git-scm / git | 2.20.0 | 2.20.5 |
| git-scm / git | 2.19.0 | 2.19.6 |
| git-scm / git | 2.18.0 | 2.18.5 |
| git-scm / git | 2.17.0 | 2.17.6 |
| git-scm / git | 2.26.0 | 2.26.3 |
| git-scm / git | 2.29.0 | 2.29.3 |
| git-scm / git | 2.30.0 | 2.30.2 |
| git-scm / git | 2.27.0 | 2.27.0.x |
| git-scm / git | 2.28.0 | 2.28.0.x |
| fedoraproject / fedora | 32 | 32.x |
| fedoraproject / fedora | 33 | 33.x |
| fedoraproject / fedora | 34 | 34.x |
| apple / xcode | - | 12.5 |
| debian / debian_linux | 10.0 | 10.0.x |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.