isomorphic-git: Circular symbolic references cause non-terminating resolution (DoS)

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-63475
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-11-03 20:18:15 UTC
Updated2026-11-03 22:19:47 UTC
Descriptionisomorphic-git is a pure JavaScript implementation of Git for Node.js and browsers. Prior to 1.38.6, isomorphic-git persists server-supplied circular symref= capabilities through updateRemoteRefs, and GitRefManager.resolve() follows the resulting loose symbolic references without a default depth limit or cycle detection. After a clone from a malicious or man-in-the-middle-controlled remote, operations such as log, status, checkout, and branch that resolve refs/remotes/origin/a or refs/remotes/origin/b do not terminate. The circular references remain on disk, leaving the repository unusable for the application and causing a persistent denial of service. This issue is fixed in version 1.38.6.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 4.3 MEDIUM from [email protected]

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

Problem Types: CWE-674 | CWE-835 | CWE-674 CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion | CWE-835 CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary4.3MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
3.1CNADECLARED4.3MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

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

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Isomorphic-git Isomorphic-git affected < 1.38.6 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git/pull/2370 [email protected] github.com
github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git/releases/tag/v1.38.6 [email protected] github.com
github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git/commit/823843d1cd19182df79bc907... [email protected] github.com
github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git/security/advisories/GHSA-96wc-2... 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 github.com
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NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

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