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Claude Desktop EUVDEUVD-2026-116208

| CVE-2026-88066 HIGH
Uncontrolled Search Path Element (CWE-427)
2026-11-03 security-advisories@github.com
7.5
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: github
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Plant malicious git.exe in repo
  2. Delivery
    Victim clones/opens project in Claude Desktop
  3. Exploit
    uv_spawn invokes git.exe without absolute path
  4. Execution
    CWD search resolves attacker binary
  5. Impact
    Arbitrary code runs with user privileges

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures
ASVS 5.0
V13 - Configuration Search path element control
Exploitation Conditions

Requires all of: (1) Claude Desktop on Windows at a version prior to 1.8089.0; (2) the victim opening an attacker-controlled or shared project directory (e.g., a cloned Git repository) in Claude Desktop - this is the UI:A active user interaction; (3) a malicious git.exe placed in that project's current working directory, which Windows search-path resolution selects before the legitimate system git.exe when uv_spawn runs git without an absolute path. Limiting factors: exploitation is gated on the user choosing to open the hostile repository, and execution occurs only at the user's existing privilege level (no elevation). It is independent of explicit confirmation dialogs beyond opening the project. Users on standard Claude Desktop auto-update have already received the fix; only manual-update users remain exposed.

Impact

This is a genuine, actionable code-execution flaw (CWE-427 uncontrolled search path) rather than an inflated high-CVSS issue, but it is not a drop-everything emergency. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A) shows network-reachable, unauthenticated, low-complexity exploitation with full VC:H/VI:H/VA:H impact - consistent with arbitrary code execution at the user's privilege level. The two tempering signals are UI:A (the victim must open the attacker-controlled repository) and AT:P (an attack requirement beyond the attacker's control - Windows search-path resolution must select the planted git.exe from the CWD before the real one). The vuln.today decision label is 'this_week', not act_now/emergency, which aligns with that profile. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code are present in the input, so there is no evidence of active or at-scale exploitation; risk is driven by the severity of the outcome and the plausibility of supply-chain delivery (shared/cloned repositories) rather than by observed exploitation. Note the input Tags label this 'Information Disclosure', which conflicts with the advisory: the actual impact is arbitrary code execution, so the risk is higher-integrity/availability than an info-disclosure label would imply - treat the tag as wrong, not the advisory.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker commits a malicious git.exe into the root of a shared or public Git repository. When a victim clones that repository and opens it as a project in Claude Desktop on Windows (version prior to 1.8089.0), Claude Desktop spawns git.exe via uv_spawn without an absolute path; Windows resolves the current working directory first and runs the attacker's binary with the user's privileges. No public exploit code is identified in the input, though the mechanism is fully described in the GitHub advisory.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available

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AnalysisAIv1 – Nov 03, 2026

Arbitrary code execution on Windows in Claude Desktop versions prior to 1.8089.0 allows a malicious git.exe planted in an opened project directory to run at the victim's privileges, because the application invoked git.exe through uv_spawn without an absolute path and Windows search-path resolution selected the current working directory ahead of the intended system executable. Unauthenticated remote attackers must get the victim to open an attacker-controlled or shared repository in the app (the UI:A active user interaction), after which the substituted program executes with no confirmation beyond opening the project. The issue is fixed in 1.8089.0, users on standard auto-update have already received the fix, and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis.

RemediationAI

Upgrade Claude Desktop to version 1.8089.0 or later on Windows; per the advisory, users on the standard Claude Desktop auto-update channel have already received this fix, so only installations being updated manually remain exposed and should be brought to 1.8089.0 without delay. Because exploitation requires the victim to open a hostile or shared project directory, exposure can be reduced in the interim by not opening untrusted or unreviewed repositories and directories in Claude Desktop until the upgrade is applied, at the cost of restricting normal workflow on such projects. The advisory does not describe any additional workaround or configuration change beyond updating, and it does not indicate that updating can be safely skipped on the assumption that auto-update covered a given host. Details are available at https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/security/advisories/GHSA-4p2j-qj3c-6x84.

Affected VersionsENISA

claude-code < 1.8089.0

Affected Packages

euvd claude_code fix: 1.8089.0

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The root cause is CWE-427, uncontrolled search path element. uv_spawn is libuv's process-creation API (the layer beneath Node.js child_process); when it is given a bare executable name such as "git.exe" rather than an absolute path, Windows resolves the name using its search order, which includes the current working directory before the system directories. Claude Desktop for Windows called git this way while operating on an opened project, so a directory containing a crafted git.exe caused that binary to be selected and executed instead of the legitimate Git installation. The flaw is a classic binary-planting / path-interception pattern rather than a memory-safety bug: the attacker does not exploit a parser or corrupt state, they supply a file that the privileged parent process then launches. Because the project directory is the attack surface, the practical delivery vector is a shared or cloned Git repository or any archive whose directory a user later opens in Claude Desktop - a supply-chain style route. The CVSS 4.0 vector supplied (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A) reflects that attack requirements must be met (the malicious git.exe must be present in the opened directory) and that a user must actively open the project; execution is bounded by the user's existing privileges, with no elevation. The maintainers credit Junhyuk Im, Jeongmin Choi, and Seungyun Lee of S2W for the report.

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Severity by source

Vendor (github) PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 8.8 HIGH

Malicious repo is delivered over the network (AV:N) and the search-path hijack is reliable (AC:L), but the victim must open the project (UI:R); unauthenticated (PR:N) and code runs with full user-context impact (C/I/A:H).

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (github).

CVSS VectorVendor: github

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Active
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
High
Vulnerable system: Integrity
High
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Nov 03, 2026 - 21:03 EUVD
CVE Published
Nov 03, 2026 - 20:18 cve.org
HIGH 7.5

DescriptionCVE.org

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's desktop application for interacting with Claude. Prior to 1.8089.0, Claude Desktop on Windows invokes git.exe through uv_spawn without an absolute path, allowing Windows search-path resolution to select a malicious git.exe placed in the opened project's current working directory before the intended system executable. Opening an attacker-controlled or shared repository can therefore execute the substituted program with the user's privileges. This issue is fixed in version 1.8089.0.

Technical POC Analysis

Evidence basis: GHSA-4p2j-qj3c-6x84 only.

Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A high-severity vulnerability in Claude Desktop for Windows, versions before 1.8089.0, enables arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious or shared project directory, potentially allowing attackers to compromise endpoints and access sensitive data. Although no public exploit has been identified, the risk is elevated for organizations where employees regularly open third-party repositories, and leadership should prioritize verifying that all installations are updated to the fixed version.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch: update to Claude Desktop 1.8089.0 or later.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Prevalence
Medium
popular AI desktop app, moderate but growing Windows install base
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS N/A
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
High

Priority Score

38
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +38
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0
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