From 5ef19b63bf709cf39059bf67d97ab1dd22ef4a59 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2022 09:12:49 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] windows: ignore empty `PATH` elements

When looking up an executable via the `_which` function, Git GUI
imitates the `execlp()` strategy where the environment variable `PATH`
is interpreted as a list of paths in which to search.

For historical reasons, stemming from the olden times when it was
uncommon to download a lot of files from the internet into the current
directory, empty elements in this list are treated as if the current
directory had been specified.

Nowadays, of course, this treatment is highly dangerous as the current
directory often contains files that have just been downloaded and not
yet been inspected by the user. Unix/Linux users are essentially
expected to be very, very careful to simply not add empty `PATH`
elements, i.e. not to make use of that feature.

On Windows, however, it is quite common for `PATH` to contain empty
elements by mistake, e.g. as an unintended left-over entry when an
application was installed from the Windows Store and then uninstalled
manually.

While it would probably make most sense to safe-guard not only Windows
users, it seems to be common practice to ignore these empty `PATH`
elements _only_ on Windows, but not on other platforms.

Sadly, this practice is followed inconsistently between different
software projects, where projects with few, if any, Windows-based
contributors tend to be less consistent or even "blissful" about it.
Here is a non-exhaustive list:

Cygwin:

	It specifically "eats" empty paths when converting path lists to
	POSIX: https://github.com/cygwin/cygwin/commit/753702223c7d

	I.e. it follows the common practice.

PowerShell:

	It specifically ignores empty paths when searching the `PATH`.
	The reason for this is apparently so self-evident that it is not
	even mentioned here:
	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_environment_variables#path-information

	I.e. it follows the common practice.

CMD:

	Oh my, CMD. Let's just forget about it, nobody in their right
	(security) mind takes CMD as inspiration. It is so unsafe by
	default that we even planned on dropping `Git CMD` from Git for
	Windows altogether, and only walked back on that plan when we
	found a super ugly hack, just to keep Git's users secure by
	default:

		https://github.com/git-for-windows/MINGW-packages/commit/82172388bb51

	So CMD chooses to hide behind the battle cry "Works as
	Designed!" that all too often leaves users vulnerable. CMD is
	probably the most prominent project whose lead you want to avoid
	following in matters of security.

Win32 API (`CreateProcess()`)

	Just like CMD, `CreateProcess()` adheres to the original design
	of the path lookup in the name of backward compatibility (see
	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/processthreadsapi/nf-processthreadsapi-createprocessw
	for details):

		If the file name does not contain a directory path, the
		system searches for the executable file in the following
		sequence:

		    1. The directory from which the application loaded.

		    2. The current directory for the parent process.

		    [...]

	I.e. the Win32 API itself chooses backwards compatibility over
	users' safety.

Git LFS:

	There have been not one, not two, but three security advisories
	about Git LFS executing executables from the current directory by
	mistake. As part of one of them, a change was introduced to stop
	treating empty `PATH` elements as equivalent to `.`:
	https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs/commit/7cd7bb0a1f0d

	I.e. it follows the common practice.

Go:

	Go does not follow the common practice, and you can think about
	that what you want:
	https://github.com/golang/go/blob/go1.19.3/src/os/exec/lp_windows.go#L114-L135
	https://github.com/golang/go/blob/go1.19.3/src/path/filepath/path_windows.go#L108-L137

Git Credential Manager:

	It tries to imitate Git LFS, but unfortunately misses the empty
	`PATH` element handling. As of time of writing, this is in the
	process of being fixed:
	https://github.com/GitCredentialManager/git-credential-manager/pull/968

So now that we have established that it is a common practice to ignore
empty `PATH` elements on Windows, let's assess this commit's change
using Schneier's Five-Step Process
(https://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram/archives/2002/0415.html#1):

Step 1: What problem does it solve?

	It prevents an entire class of Remote Code Execution exploits via
	Git GUI's `Clone` functionality.

Step 2: How well does it solve that problem?

	Very well. It prevents the attack vector of luring an unsuspecting
	victim into cloning an executable into the worktree root directory
	that Git GUI immediately executes.

Step 3: What other security problems does it cause?

	Maybe non-security problems: If a project (ab-)uses the unsafe
	`PATH` lookup. That would not only be unsafe, though, but
	fragile in the first place because it would break when running
	in a subdirectory. Therefore I would consider this a scenario
	not worth keeping working.

Step 4: What are the costs of this measure?

	Almost nil, except for the time writing up this commit message
	;-)

Step 5: Given the answers to steps two through four, is the security
	measure worth the costs?

	Yes. Keeping Git's users Secure By Default is worth it. It's a
	tiny price to pay compared to the damages even a single
	successful exploit can cost.

So let's follow that common practice in Git GUI, too.

Signed-off-by: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
---
 git-gui/git-gui.sh | 3 +++
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)

diff --git a/git-gui/git-gui.sh b/git-gui/git-gui.sh
index 201524c34e..0cf625ca01 100755
--- a/git-gui/git-gui.sh
+++ b/git-gui/git-gui.sh
@@ -464,6 +464,9 @@ proc _which {what args} {
 			regsub -all ";" $gitguidir "\\;" gitguidir
 			set env(PATH) "$gitguidir;$env(PATH)"
 			set _search_path [split $env(PATH) {;}]
+			# Skip empty `PATH` elements
+			set _search_path [lsearch -all -inline -not -exact \
+				$_search_path ""]
 			set _search_exe .exe
 		} else {
 			set _search_path [split $env(PATH) :]
-- 
2.27.0

