CVE-2026-82254 in Gitoxide
Summary
by MITRE • 08/28/2026
gitoxide before 0.69.0 contains unchecked array indexing in delta application and uncapped allocation from attacker-controlled size headers in gix-pack. Attackers can send crafted pack data during clone or fetch operations to trigger panics or out-of-memory process kills.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/28/2026
The vulnerability identified in gitoxide prior to version 0.69.0 represents a critical class of memory safety issues stemming from insufficient validation of input data structures, specifically within the delta application logic and pack file processing components. As a high-performance Git implementation written in Rust, gitoxide is generally expected to provide strong guarantees against common memory corruption vulnerabilities due to its use of safe language features. However, this specific flaw reveals that certain code paths involving external or attacker-controlled inputs bypassed these safety checks, leading to unchecked array indexing and unbounded resource allocation. The core technical failure lies in the handling of delta application operations where index values derived from pack data were not validated against the bounds of the target buffer, allowing for out-of-bounds memory access. Simultaneously, the gix-pack component failed to enforce limits on size headers provided by remote servers during clone or fetch operations, resulting in attempts to allocate memory proportional to these untrusted sizes without adequate cap checks.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability allows a malicious actor to exploit the Git client through standard network protocols such as HTTPS or SSH when interacting with a compromised repository. By crafting specific pack data files containing malformed delta instructions or excessively large size headers, an attacker can trigger either a panic in the Rust runtime or cause the operating system's out-of-memory killer to terminate the process. While these outcomes do not typically result in arbitrary code execution due to the memory safety model of Rust, they constitute a severe denial of service condition that disrupts development workflows and CI/CD pipelines relying on automated cloning or fetching operations. The impact is particularly significant for organizations using gitoxide as their primary Git backend, where availability is critical for continuous integration processes.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes Out-of-bounds Read, due to the unchecked array indexing that accesses memory outside of intended boundaries during delta application. Furthermore, it relates to CWE-789, Uncontrolled Memory Allocation, as the system fails to restrict the amount of memory allocated based on untrusted input from network sources. In terms of adversarial tactics, this exploitation vector corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1496, Resource Hijacking, specifically through denial of service via resource exhaustion or process termination. The attack scenario typically involves an attacker hosting a malicious repository and enticing users or automated systems to clone or fetch from it, thereby triggering the vulnerability during the packfile unpacking phase.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve upgrading gitoxide to version 0.69.0 or later, where these bounds checks and allocation limits have been implemented by the maintainers. For environments unable to upgrade immediately, defensive measures include restricting Git operations to trusted repositories only and implementing network-level filtering to inspect pack data for anomalies in size headers before they reach the client application. Additionally, configuring operating system memory limits can help contain the impact of potential out-of-memory events, although this is a less effective control than patching the underlying software flaw. Continuous monitoring of build logs for unexpected process terminations or panics related to git operations may also serve as an early detection mechanism for attempted exploitation in production environments.