Home/CVE/In Go before 1.10.6 and 1.11.x before 1.11.3, the "go get" command is vulnerable to remote code execution when executed
CVE

CVE-2018-16873

In Go before 1.10.6 and 1.11.x before 1.11.3, the "go get" command is vulnerable to remote code execution when executed

In Go before 1.10.6 and 1.11.x before 1.11.3, the "go get" command is vulnerable to remote code execution when executed with the -u flag and the import path of a malicious Go package, or a package that imports it directly or indirectly. Specifically, it is only vulnerable in GOPATH mode, but not in module mode (the distinction is documented at https://golang.org/cmd/go/#hdr-Module_aware_go_get). Using custom domains, it's possible to arrange things so that a Git repository is cloned to a folder named ".git" by using a vanity import path that ends with "/.git".

If the Git repository root contains a "HEAD" file, a "config" file, an "objects" directory, a "refs" directory, with some work to ensure the proper ordering of operations, "go get -u" can be tricked into considering the parent directory as a repository root, and running Git commands on it. That will use the "config" file in the original Git repository root for its configuration, and if that config file contains malicious commands, they will execute on the system running "go get -u".

HIGH · CVSS 8.1 EPSS 0.56804
Act now
  • EPSS ≥ 0.50 - high probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
  • EPSS percentile: top 2% of all CVEs by exploitation likelihood
  • CVSS base score ≥ 7.0
Sigma rules0 YARA rules0

Weakness Classification

Affected Products & Versions

6
golang go< 1.10.6
golang go>= 1.11.0 and < 1.11.3
opensuse leapall versions
debian linuxall versions

Affected Packages

1
Language-ecosystem packages (from OSV) tied to this CVE, with the version that fixes it - the dependency-level detail NVD doesn’t carry.
Go toolchain fixed in 1.10.6, 1.11.3

Scoring & Timeline

8.1
HIGH · CVSS v3.1 · secalert@redhat.com
View on NVD
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
Published to NVD14 Dec 2018 · 02:29 PM
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vendor Advisories

30
suse-csafopenSUSE-SU-2025:15779-1
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2025:03545-1
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2025:03540-1
suse-csafopenSUSE-SU-2025:15589-1
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2024:3656-1
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