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Re: [PATCH v2 1/4] sideband: mask control characters

From
Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
Date
Jan 9, 2026, 12:38 UTC
Message-ID
<aWD2s5RyhxYSLmfc@pks.im>
In-Reply-To
<8d7047655933592939dd1395f5b1ead595cee4ee.1765981422.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
On Wed, Dec 17, 2025 at 02:23:39PM +0000, Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget wrote:
Show 20 quoted lines
> From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
> 
> The output of `git clone` is a vital component for understanding what
> has happened when things go wrong. However, these logs are partially
> under the control of the remote server (via the "sideband", which
> typically contains what the remote `git pack-objects` process sends to
> `stderr`), and is currently not sanitized by Git.
> 
> This makes Git susceptible to ANSI escape sequence injection (see
> CWE-150, https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/150.html), which allows
> attackers to corrupt terminal state, to hide information, and even to
> insert characters into the input buffer (i.e. as if the user had typed
> those characters).
> 
> To plug this vulnerability, disallow any control character in the
> sideband, replacing them instead with the common `^<letter/symbol>`
> (e.g. `^[` for `\x1b`, `^A` for `\x01`).
> 
> There is likely a need for more fine-grained controls instead of using a
> "heavy hammer" like this, which will be introduced subsequently.
Most notably color codes, I assume.
Show 9 quoted lines
> diff --git a/sideband.c b/sideband.c
> index 02805573fa..fc1805dcf8 100644
> --- a/sideband.c
> +++ b/sideband.c
> @@ -65,6 +65,19 @@ void list_config_color_sideband_slots(struct string_list *list, const char *pref
>  		list_config_item(list, prefix, keywords[i].keyword);
>  }
>  
> +static void strbuf_add_sanitized(struct strbuf *dest, const char *src, int n)

Shouldn't `n` be of type `size_t`? I guess the answer is "maybe", as `maybe_colorize_sideband()` also accepts `int n` with a big comment explaining why that's okay. Ultimately, the reason is that we accept pkt-lines, so every line is limited to at most 64kB anyway.

Show 6 quoted lines
> +{
> +	strbuf_grow(dest, n);
> +	for (; n && *src; src++, n--) {
> +		if (!iscntrl(*src) || *src == '\t' || *src == '\n')
> +			strbuf_addch(dest, *src);
> +		else {

Tiny nit, not worth addressing on its own: the if branch should also have curly braces.

Patrick
Previous: Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadgetNext: Johannes Schindelin
Message 20 of 86 in “Sanitize sideband channel messages”
  1. 0/3 Sanitize sideband channel messagesJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 14, 2025
  2. 1/3 sideband: mask control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 14, 2025
  3. Phillip WoodJan 15, 2025
  4. Johannes SchindelinDec 2, 2025
  5. Andreas SchwabJan 15, 2025
  6. Junio C HamanoJan 15, 2025
  7. 2/3 sideband: introduce an "escape hatch" to allow control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 14, 2025
  8. 3/3 sideband: do allow ANSI color sequences by defaultJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 14, 2025
  9. brian m. carlsonJan 14, 2025
  10. Junio C HamanoJan 16, 2025
  11. Ondrej PohorelskyJan 28, 2025
  12. Junio C HamanoJan 31, 2025
  13. Johannes SchindelinDec 2, 2025
  14. brian m. carlsonDec 3, 2025
  15. Johannes SchindelinDec 3, 2025
  16. Phillip WoodJan 15, 2025
  17. Johannes SchindelinDec 2, 2025
  18. 0/4 Sanitize sideband channel messagesJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  19. 1/4 sideband: mask control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  20. Patrick SteinhardtJan 9, 2026
  21. Johannes SchindelinJan 16, 2026
  22. 2/4 sideband: introduce an "escape hatch" to allow control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  23. Junio C HamanoDec 18, 2025
  24. Johannes SchindelinDec 18, 2025
  25. Junio C HamanoDec 19, 2025
  26. Johannes SchindelinJan 16, 2026
  27. Patrick SteinhardtJan 9, 2026
  28. 3/4 sideband: do allow ANSI color sequences by defaultJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  29. Patrick SteinhardtJan 9, 2026
  30. Johannes SchindelinJan 16, 2026
  31. 4/4 sideband: add options to allow more control sequences to be passed throughJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  32. Patrick SteinhardtJan 9, 2026
  33. brian m. carlsonJan 10, 2026
  34. Jeff KingJan 15, 2026
  35. Junio C HamanoJan 15, 2026
  36. Johannes SchindelinJan 15, 2026
  37. Patrick SteinhardtJan 16, 2026
  38. Ondrej PohorelskyJan 16, 2026
  39. Junio C HamanoJan 16, 2026
  40. Johannes SchindelinJan 16, 2026
  41. Junio C HamanoJan 16, 2026
  42. Patrick SteinhardtJan 19, 2026
  43. brian m. carlsonJan 19, 2026
  44. D. Ben KnobleJan 20, 2026
  45. Junio C HamanoJan 20, 2026
  46. Jeff KingJan 20, 2026
  47. Junio C HamanoJan 20, 2026
  48. Patrick SteinhardtJan 21, 2026
  49. Johannes SchindelinJan 22, 2026
  50. Junio C HamanoJan 22, 2026
  51. brian m. carlsonJan 15, 2026
  52. Junio C HamanoFeb 3, 2026
  53. Johannes SchindelinFeb 3, 2026
  54. Junio C HamanoFeb 3, 2026
  55. Junio C HamanoFeb 4, 2026
  56. Johannes SchindelinJan 16, 2026
  57. 0/5 Sanitize sideband channel messagesJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 16, 2026
  58. 1/5 sideband: mask control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 16, 2026
  59. 2/5 sideband: introduce an "escape hatch" to allow control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 16, 2026
  60. 3/5 sideband: do allow ANSI color sequences by defaultJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 16, 2026
  61. 4/5 sideband: add options to allow more control sequences to be passed throughJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 16, 2026
  62. 5/5 sideband: offer to configure sanitizing on a per-URL basisJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 16, 2026
  63. Johannes SchindelinJan 16, 2026
  64. 0/6 Sanitize sideband channel messagesJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Feb 3, 2026
  65. 1/6 sideband: mask control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Feb 3, 2026
  66. 2/6 sideband: introduce an "escape hatch" to allow control charactersJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Feb 3, 2026
  67. 3/6 sideband: do allow ANSI color sequences by defaultJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Feb 3, 2026
  68. 4/6 sideband: add options to allow more control sequences to be passed throughJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Feb 3, 2026
  69. 5/6 sideband: offer to configure sanitizing on a per-URL basisJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Feb 3, 2026
  70. 6/6 sideband: delay sanitizing by default to Git v3.0Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Feb 3, 2026
  71. Junio C HamanoFeb 4, 2026
  72. Junio C HamanoFeb 5, 2026
  73. Junio C HamanoFeb 13, 2026
  74. 0/3 Sanitizing sideband outputJunio C Hamano, Mar 2, 2026
  75. 1/3 sideband: drop 'default' configurationJunio C Hamano, Mar 2, 2026
  76. 2/3 sideband: delay sanitizing by default to Git v3.0Junio C Hamano, Mar 2, 2026
  77. 3/3 sideband: conditional documentation fixJunio C Hamano, Mar 2, 2026
  78. 0/7 Sanitizing sideband outputJunio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  79. 1/7 sideband: mask control charactersJunio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  80. 2/7 sideband: introduce an "escape hatch" to allow control charactersJunio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  81. 3/7 sideband: do allow ANSI color sequences by defaultJunio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  82. 4/7 sideband: add options to allow more control sequences to be passed throughJunio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  83. 5/7 sideband: offer to configure sanitizing on a per-URL basisJunio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  84. 6/7 sideband: drop 'default' configurationJunio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  85. 7/7 sideband: delay sanitizing by default to Git v3.0Junio C Hamano, Mar 5, 2026
  86. Shipping 2.55 with stricter "neuter sideband" topicJunio C Hamano, Jun 11, 2026

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