Mutagen list and monitor operations do not neutralize control characters in text controlled by remote endpoints
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and GitHub.
Summary
Mutagen provides real-time file synchronization and flexible network forwarding for developers. Prior to versions 0.16.6 and 0.17.1 in `mutagen` and prior to version 0.17.1 in `mutagen-compose`, Mutagen `list` and `monitor` commands are susceptible to control characters that could be provided by remote endpoints. This could cause terminal corruption, either intentional or unintentional, if these characters were present in error messages or file paths/names. This could be used as an attack vector if synchronizing with an untrusted remote endpoint, synchronizing files not under control of the user, or forwarding to/from an untrusted remote endpoint. On very old systems with terminals susceptible to issues such as CVE-2003-0069, the issue could theoretically cause code execution. The problem has been patched in Mutagen v0.16.6 and v0.17.1. Earlier versions of Mutagen are no longer supported and will not be patched. Versions of Mutagen after v0.18.0 will also have the patch merged. As a workaround, avoiding synchronization of untrusted files or interaction with untrusted remote endpoints should mitigate any risk.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mutagen-io | mutagen | github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen < 0.16.6; github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen >= 0.17.0, < 0.17.1; github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose < 0.17.1 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (Go) | before 0.16.6 | 0.16.6 | Patch available | GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2 |
| — | github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose (Go) | before 0.17.1 | 0.17.1 | Patch available | GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2 |
| — | github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (Go) | 0.17.0 to before 0.17.1 | 0.17.1 | Patch available | GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2 |
- mutagen Vendormutagen-io Affected github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen < 0.16.6; github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen >= 0.17.0, < 0.17.1; github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose < 0.17.1 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (Go) Vendor— Affected before 0.16.6 Fixed in 0.16.6 Patch available GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2
- github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose (Go) Vendor— Affected before 0.17.1 Fixed in 0.17.1 Patch available GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2
- github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (Go) Vendor— Affected 0.17.0 to before 0.17.1 Fixed in 0.17.1 Patch available GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2 github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (Go) Fixed in 0.16.6 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2 github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen-compose (Go) Fixed in 0.17.1 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2 github.com/mutagen-io/mutagen (Go) Fixed in 0.17.1 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-30844
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2
References
Sources
- CVE-2023-30844 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-30844 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jmp2-wc4p-wfh2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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