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Re: [PATCH v4] setup: allow cwd/.git to be a symlink to a directory

From
Karthik Nayak <karthik.188@gmail.com>
Date
Feb 17, 2026, 17:59 UTC
Message-ID
<CAOLa=ZR=2B7yH+vtyiAPcCyU17yd2GZwonaj=JRo1f+LzSCoTg@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<20260217084124.150366-1-a3205153416@gmail.com>
Tian Yuchen <a3205153416@gmail.com> writes:
Show 30 quoted lines
> Strictly enforcing 'lstat()' and 'S_ISREG()' on '.git' prevents valid
> workflows where '.git' is a symbolic link pointing to a real git
> directory (e.g. created via 'ln -s').
>
> Refactor 'setup_git_directory_gently_1()' to use 'stat()' instead of
> 'lstat()'. This allows the filesystem to automatically resolve symbolic
> links.
>
> To ensure safety and correctness, the logic flow is updated to:
>
> 1. Ignore 'ENOENT' (file missing).
> 2. Check 'IS_A_DIR' cases via 'is_git_directory()'.
> 3. Explicitly reject 'NOT_A_FILE' cases (FIFOs or sockets).
>
> Add a new test script t/t0009-setup-security.sh which verifies:
>
> - Valid .git symlinks to real directories are accepted.
> - .git as a named pipe (FIFO) is rejected.
> - .git as a symlink to a named pipe is rejected.
> - .git with garbage content is rejected.
> - Empty .git directories are ignored.
>
> Signed-off-by: Tian Yuchen <a3205153416@gmail.com>
> ---
>  setup.c                   | 39 ++++++++++++++-------
>  setup.h                   |  2 ++
>  t/t0009-setup-security.sh | 72 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  3 files changed, 101 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)
>  create mode 100755 t/t0009-setup-security.sh
>

I also missed this in my review, but the test needs to be added to 'meson.build', without which meson would fail. This is caught by our CI too, if you run the CI on GitLab/GitHub you should see the issue.

Karthik
Previous: Tian YuchenNext: Tian Yuchen
Message 20 of 35 in “[RFC] setup: fail if .git is not a file or directory”
  1. Tian YuchenFeb 11, 2026
  2. Junio C HamanoFeb 11, 2026
  3. Tian YuchenFeb 12, 2026
  4. setup: fail if .git is not a file or directoryTian Yuchen, Feb 12, 2026
  5. Junio C HamanoFeb 12, 2026
  6. Tian YuchenFeb 13, 2026
  7. setup: fail if .git is not a file or directoryTian Yuchen, Feb 14, 2026
  8. Junio C HamanoFeb 15, 2026
  9. Tian YuchenFeb 15, 2026
  10. Junio C HamanoFeb 16, 2026
  11. Tian YuchenFeb 16, 2026
  12. setup: allow cwd/.git to be a symlink to a directoryTian Yuchen, Feb 17, 2026
  13. Karthik NayakFeb 17, 2026
  14. Tian YuchenFeb 17, 2026
  15. Karthik NayakFeb 17, 2026
  16. Junio C HamanoFeb 17, 2026
  17. Junio C HamanoFeb 17, 2026
  18. Karthik NayakFeb 17, 2026
  19. Tian YuchenFeb 18, 2026
  20. Karthik NayakFeb 17, 2026
  21. 0/2 setup.c: v5 rerollTian Yuchen, Feb 18, 2026
  22. 1/2 setup: distingush ENOENT from other stat errorsTian Yuchen, Feb 18, 2026
  23. Karthik NayakFeb 18, 2026
  24. Tian YuchenFeb 18, 2026
  25. Junio C HamanoFeb 18, 2026
  26. Junio C HamanoFeb 18, 2026
  27. 2/2 setup: allow cwd/.git to be a symlink to a directoryTian Yuchen, Feb 18, 2026
  28. Karthik NayakFeb 18, 2026
  29. Tian YuchenFeb 18, 2026
  30. Junio C HamanoFeb 18, 2026
  31. Tian YuchenFeb 19, 2026
  32. Tian YuchenFeb 15, 2026
  33. brian m. carlsonFeb 12, 2026
  34. Junio C HamanoFeb 12, 2026
  35. brian m. carlsonFeb 12, 2026

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