CVE-2020-26222

CVE-2020-26222 is a high-severity security vulnerability in dependabot-omnibus (rubygems), affecting versions >= 0.119.0.beta1, < 0.125.1. It is fixed in 0.125.1.

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Summary

Remote code execution in dependabot-core branch names when cloning

Workarounds

Escape the branch name prior to passing it to the Dependabot::Source class.

For example using shellwords:

require "shellwords"
branch = Shellwords.escape("/$({curl,127.0.0.1})")
source = Dependabot::Source.new(
  provider: "github",
  repo: "repo/name",
  directory: "/",
  branch: branch,
)

Impact

Remote code execution vulnerability in dependabot-common and dependabot-go_modules when a source branch name contains malicious injectable bash code.

For example, if Dependabot is configured to use the following source branch name: "/$({curl,127.0.0.1})", Dependabot will make a HTTP request to the following URL: 127.0.0.1 when cloning the source repository.

When Dependabot is configured to clone the source repository during an update, Dependabot runs a shell command to git clone the repository:

git clone --no-tags --no-recurse-submodules --depth=1 --branch=<BRANCH> --single-branch <GITHUB_REPO_URL> repo/contents/path

Dependabot will always clone the source repository for go_modules during the file fetching step and can be configured to clone the repository for other package managers using the FileFetcher class from dependabot-common.

source = Dependabot::Source.new(
  provider: "github",
  repo: "repo/name",
  directory: "/",
  branch: "/$({curl,127.0.0.1})",
)

repo_contents_path = "./file/path"
fetcher = Dependabot::FileFetchers.for_package_manager("bundler").
                  new(source: source, credentials: [],
                  repo_contents_path: repo_contents_path)
fetcher.clone_repo_contents

CVE-2020-26222 has a CVSS score of 8.7 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.125.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

dependabot-omnibus (>= 0.119.0.beta1, < 0.125.1) dependabot-common (>= 0.119.0.beta1, < 0.125.1)

Security releases

dependabot-omnibus → 0.125.1 (rubygems) dependabot-common → 0.125.1 (rubygems)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

The fix was applied to version 0.125.1: https://github.com/dependabot/dependabot-core/pull/2727

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is CVE-2020-26222? CVE-2020-26222 is a high-severity security vulnerability in dependabot-omnibus (rubygems), affecting versions >= 0.119.0.beta1, < 0.125.1. It is fixed in 0.125.1.
  2. How severe is CVE-2020-26222? CVE-2020-26222 has a CVSS score of 8.7 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
  3. Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-26222?
    • dependabot-omnibus (rubygems) (versions >= 0.119.0.beta1, < 0.125.1)
    • dependabot-common (rubygems) (versions >= 0.119.0.beta1, < 0.125.1)
  4. Is there a fix for CVE-2020-26222? Yes. CVE-2020-26222 is fixed in 0.125.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
  5. Is CVE-2020-26222 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2020-26222 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
  6. What actually determines whether CVE-2020-26222 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
  7. How do I fix CVE-2020-26222?
    • Upgrade dependabot-omnibus to 0.125.1 or later
    • Upgrade dependabot-common to 0.125.1 or later

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