Sign in
Deutsch English Español Polski
Medium

Symfony's incorrect argument escaping under MSYS2/Git Bash can lead to destructive file operations on Windows

  • Disclosed: 28.01.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Summary

The Symfony Process component did not correctly treat some characters (notably =) as “special” when escaping arguments on Windows. When PHP is executed from an MSYS2-based environment (e.g. Git Bash) and Symfony Process spawns native Windows executables, MSYS2’s argument/path conversion can mishandle unquoted arguments containing these characters.

This can cause the spawned process to receive corrupted/truncated arguments compared to what Symfony intended.

Impact

If an application (or tooling such as Composer scripts) uses Symfony Process to invoke file-management commands (e.g. rmdir, del, etc.) with a path argument containing =, the MSYS2 conversion layer may alter the argument at runtime. In affected setups this can result in operations being performed on an unintended path, up to and including deletion of the contents of a broader directory or drive.

The issue is particularly relevant when untrusted input can influence process arguments (directly or indirectly, e.g. via repository paths, extracted archive paths, temporary directories, or user-controlled configuration).

Resolution

Upgrade to a Symfony release that includes the fix from symfony/symfony#63164 (which updates Windows argument escaping to ensure arguments containing = and other MSYS2-sensitive characters are properly quoted/escaped). The patch for branch 5.4 is available at https://github.com/symfony/symfony/commit/ec154f6f95f8c60f831998ec4d246a857e9d179b

Workarounds / Mitigations

Avoid running PHP/your tooling from MSYS2-based shells on Windows; prefer cmd.exe or PowerShell for workflows that spawn native executables. Avoid passing paths containing = (and similar MSYS2-sensitive characters) to Symfony Process when operating under Git Bash/MSYS2. Where applicable, configure MSYS2 to disable or restrict argument conversion (e.g. via MSYS2_ARG_CONV_EXCL), understanding this may affect other tooling behavior.

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Composer package symfony/process < 5.4.51, >= 6.4, < 6.4.33, >= 7.3, < 7.3.11, >= 7.4, < 7.4.5, >= 8.0, < 8.0.5 5.4.51, 6.4.33, 7.3.11, 7.4.5, 8.0.5
Composer package symfony/symfony < 5.4.51, >= 6.4, < 6.4.33, >= 7.3, < 7.3.11, >= 7.4, < 7.4.5, >= 8.0, < 8.0.5 5.4.51, 6.4.33, 7.3.11, 7.4.5, 8.0.5

References

CVSS score 6.3/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-88
Platform
Composer
Package
symfony/process, symfony/symfony
Disclosed
28.01.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 10:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-r39x-jcww-82v6 - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: symfony/symfony

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Composer package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (100) in the archive
Total entries
100
First → latest
11.2019 06.2026
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 8
  • High 28
  • Medium 51
  • Low 13

Disclosures per year

Severity:
  1. Symfony: Security Firewall Bypass via failure_forward Subrequest: Unauthenticated Access to access_control-Protected GET Routes
    High CVE-2026-48489 < 5.4.53, >= 6.0.0, < 6.4.41, >= 7.0.0, < 7.4.13, >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.13 5.4.53, 6.4.41, 7.4.13, 8.0.13
  2. Symfony has Unauthenticated PHP Object Deserialization in MonologBridge server:log Listener
    High CVE-2026-45077 < 5.4.52, >= 6.0.0, < 6.4.40, >= 7.0.0, < 7.4.12, >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.12 5.4.52, 6.4.40, 7.4.12, 8.0.12
  3. Symfony's HEAD Request Bypasses methods: ['GET'] Filter in #[IsGranted] / #[IsSignatureValid] / #[IsCsrfTokenValid]
    High CVE-2026-45075 >= 7.4.0, < 7.4.12, >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.12 7.4.12, 8.0.12
  4. Symfony has Email Header / SMTP Command Injection via CRLF in Symfony\Component\Mime\Address
    High CVE-2026-45067 < 5.4.52, >= 6.0.0, < 6.4.40, >= 7.0.0, < 7.4.12, >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.12 5.4.52, 6.4.40, 7.4.12, 8.0.12
  5. Symfony Vulnerable to Identity Spoofing via Unanchored DN Regex in X509Authenticator
    High CVE-2026-45063 < 5.4.52, >= 6.0.0-BETA1, < 6.4.40, >= 7.0.0-BETA1, < 7.4.12, >= 8.0.0-BETA1, < 8.0.12 5.4.52, 6.4.40, 7.4.12, 8.0.12
  6. Symfony's incorrect argument escaping under MSYS2/Git Bash can lead to destructive file operations on Windows this entry
    Medium · 6.3 CVE-2026-24739 < 5.4.51, >= 6.4, < 6.4.33, >= 7.3, < 7.3.11, >= 7.4, < 7.4.5, >= 8.0, < 8.0.5 5.4.51, 6.4.33, 7.3.11, 7.4.5, 8.0.5
  7. Symfony's incorrect parsing of PATH_INFO can lead to limited authorization bypass
    High · 7.3 CVE-2025-64500 >= 2.0.0, < 5.4.50, >= 6.0.0, < 6.4.29, >= 7.0.0, < 7.3.7 5.4.50, 6.4.29, 7.3.7
  8. Symfony vulnerable to command execution hijack on Windows with Process class
    High · 8.4 CVE-2024-51736 < 5.4.46, >= 6.0.0, < 6.4.14, >= 7.0.0, < 7.1.7 5.4.46, 6.4.14, 7.1.7
  9. Symfony Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability in the Web Profiler
    High · 8.1 CVE-2014-6072 >= 2.0.0, < 2.3.19, >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.9, >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.4 2.3.19, 2.4.9, 2.5.4
  10. Symfony XML Entity Expansion security vulnerability
    High · 7.5 ghsa-q2gc-gg3x-7942 >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.17 2.0.17
  11. Symfony XML decoding attack vector through external entities
    Critical · 9.8 ghsa-mmcv-fvq8-r9x3 >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.11 2.0.11
  12. Symfony allows direct access of ESI URLs behind a trusted proxy
    High · 7.5 CVE-2014-5245 >= 2.0.0, < 2.3.19, >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.9, >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.4 2.3.19, 2.4.9, 2.5.4
  13. Symfony vulnerable to denial of service via a malicious HTTP Host header
    High · 7.5 CVE-2014-5244 >= 2.0.0, < 2.3.19, >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.9, >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.4 2.3.19, 2.4.9, 2.5.4
  14. Code injection in the way Symfony implements translation caching in FrameworkBundle
    High · 7.5 CVE-2014-4931 >= 2.0.0, < 2.3.19, >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.9, >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.4 2.3.19, 2.4.9, 2.5.4
  15. Symfony Incorrect Access Control
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2017-11365 >= 2.7.30, < 2.7.32, >= 2.8.23, < 2.8.25, >= 3.2.10, < 3.2.12, >= 3.3.3, < 3.3.5 2.7.32, 2.8.25, 3.2.12, 3.3.5
  16. Symphony Denial of Service Via Overlong Usernames
    High · 7.5 CVE-2016-4423 >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.41, >= 2.4.0, < 2.7.13, >= 2.8.0, < 2.8.6, >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.6 2.3.41, 2.7.13, 2.8.6, 3.0.6
  17. Symfony Cryptographic Vulnerability
    High · 7.5 CVE-2016-1902 >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.37, >= 2.4.0, < 2.6.13, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.9 2.3.37, 2.6.13, 2.7.9
  18. Symfony Vulnerable to Timing Attack
    High CVE-2015-8125 >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.35, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.7, >= 2.4.0, < 2.6.12 2.3.35, 2.7.7, 2.6.12
  19. Symphony Vulnerable to PHP Code Injection via YAML Parsing
    High CVE-2013-1348 >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.22 2.0.22
  20. Symfony Arbitrary PHP code Execution
    High CVE-2013-1397 >= 2.2.0-BETA1, < 2.2.0-BETA2, >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.22, >= 2.1.0, < 2.1.7 2.2.0-BETA2, 2.0.22, 2.1.7
Show more (17) Showing 20 of 37

Know which vulnerabilities affect your application

With the DockRay integration and software inventory enabled, DockRay checks reported component versions against known vulnerabilities and notifies you about confirmed matches. Coverage depends on the supported technology and available advisory data.

Connect your application
DockRay newsletter

Application security in your inbox

Important vulnerabilities, actionable guidance and practical advice for your applications. Choose your technologies and follow what matters to your project.

  • A daily digest of new vulnerabilities, critical ones included.
  • Notifications about important updates.
  • Practical advice on application security and monitoring.

Leave empty to receive updates for every technology.

Privacy policy

Free to subscribe. Unsubscribe with one click in any email.