Answer in brief
CVE-2023-25815 records a Low severity (CVSS 3.3) vulnerability in Git looks for localized messages in the wrong place. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps git-for-windows/git (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 3.3. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps git-for-windows/git (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Product | Affected versions | Fixed versions |
|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:git_for_windows_project:git_for_windows:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| git-for-windows/gitgeneric | <2.40.1 | 2.40.1 |
Published upstream
Apr 25, 2023
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Nov 2, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Nov 2, 2026
In Git for Windows, the Windows port of Git, no localized messages are shipped with the installer. As a consequence, Git is expected not to localize messages at all, and skips the gettext initialization. However, due to a change in MINGW-packages, the `gettext()` function's implicit initialization no longer uses the runtime prefix but uses the hard-coded path `C:\mingw64\share\locale` to look for localized messages. And since any authenticated user has the permission to create folders in `C:\` (and since `C:\mingw64` does not typically exist), it is possible for low-privilege users to place fake messages in that location where `git.exe` will pick them up in version 2.40.1. This vulnerability is relatively hard to exploit and requires social engineering. For example, a legitimate message at the end of a clone could be maliciously modified to ask the user to direct their web browser to a malicious website, and the user might think that the message comes from Git and is legitimate. It does require local write access by the attacker, though, which makes this attack vector less likely. Version 2.40.1 contains a patch for this issue. Some workarounds are available. Do not work on a Windows machine with shared accounts, or alternatively create a `C:\mingw64` folder and leave it empty. Users who have administrative rights may remove the permission to create folders in `C:\`.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.