title: Git for Windows's config file of `connect.exe` is susceptible to malicious placing
description: Git for Windows, the Windows port of Git, ships with an executable called `connect.exe`, which implements a SOCKS5 proxy that can be used to connect e.g. to SSH servers via proxies when certain ports are blocked for outgoing connections. The location of `connect.exe`'s config file is hard-coded as `/etc/connectrc` which will typically be interpreted as `C:\etc\connectrc`. Since `C:\etc` can be created by any authenticated user, this makes `connect.exe` susceptible to malicious files being placed there by other users on the same multi-user machine. The problem has been patched in Git for Windows v2.40.1. As a workaround, create the folder `etc` on all drives where Git commands are run, and remove read/write access from those folders. Alternatively, watch out for malicious `<drive>:\etc\connectrc` files on multi-user machines.
problem types: CWE-427: Uncontrolled Search Path Element
affected:
{
vendor: git-for-windows
product: git
versions:
version: < 2.40.1, status: affected
}
metrics:
cvssV3_1: [
attackComplexity: HIGH
attackVector: LOCAL
availabilityImpact: HIGH
baseScore: 7.6
baseSeverity: HIGH
confidentialityImpact: HIGH
integrityImpact: HIGH
privilegesRequired: LOW
scope: CHANGED
userInteraction: REQUIRED
vectorString: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
version: 3.1
]