CVE-2019-1354 in Visual Studio
Summary
by MITRE
A remote code execution vulnerability exists when Git for Visual Studio improperly sanitizes input, aka 'Git for Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2019-1349, CVE-2019-1350, CVE-2019-1352, CVE-2019-1387.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/17/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-1354 represents a critical remote code execution flaw within Git for Visual Studio, a popular version control integration tool for Microsoft's development environment. This security weakness stems from inadequate input sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly validate and process user-supplied data, creating an exploitable condition that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The vulnerability specifically targets the Git for Visual Studio component that handles various repository operations, including clone, pull, and push functionalities, where user input is processed without sufficient security controls. The flaw enables attackers to craft malicious inputs that bypass normal validation checks and execute unintended commands within the context of the affected application's privileges.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of command-line arguments and repository metadata within the Git for Visual Studio integration. When users interact with Git repositories through the Visual Studio interface, the tool translates these operations into underlying Git commands that are executed on the system. The insufficient sanitization allows attackers to inject malicious payloads that get interpreted as legitimate commands, potentially leading to complete system compromise. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-77 attack pattern classification, which specifically addresses command injection flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into command execution contexts without proper validation or escaping. The vulnerability's impact is particularly severe because it operates within the trusted Visual Studio environment, making detection more challenging for security monitoring systems that might not flag unusual Git operations as malicious.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks to development teams and organizations that rely on Git for Visual Studio for their version control needs. Attackers can exploit this weakness remotely without requiring local system access, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where developers may have elevated privileges within their development workspaces. The exploitation process typically involves crafting specially formatted repository URLs, commit messages, or other user inputs that contain malicious code sequences designed to be executed when the Git operations are processed. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Git for Visual Studio, creating a widespread exposure across development teams using affected software versions. Security researchers have noted that the attack surface is broad since Git operations occur frequently during development workflows, increasing the opportunities for exploitation.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, beginning with updating to the latest versions of Git for Visual Studio that contain the necessary security patches. Microsoft has released updates that correct the input sanitization flaws by implementing proper validation and escaping mechanisms for all user-supplied data. Network segmentation and monitoring of Git-related activities can serve as additional defensive measures to detect potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict the execution of unauthorized Git commands and establish monitoring protocols for unusual repository operations. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework places it within the command and control domain, specifically targeting techniques that leverage application execution and process injection methods. Regular security assessments of development environments and code review processes should be enhanced to identify potential input handling issues that could lead to similar vulnerabilities in custom applications or integrated development tools.