Git Worktree Created With Reserved Name .git (Directory-Confusion Sandbox Escape)

Detects a "git worktree add" invocation where the new worktree's path component is literally ".git" (e.g. "git worktree add ../.git some-branch"). Ordinary worktrees are never named ".git" -- this is the reserved name of the repository's own metadata directory, and creating a worktree with that name is the first step of a directory-confusion attack that lets a coding agent's git operations be redirected outside the sandboxed workspace context. Mined from GHSA-7835-87q9-rgvv (Claude Code, CVE-2026-55607): "Claude Code's worktree handling allowed creation of worktrees named '.git' and navigation to worktrees outside the sandbox context, enabling git directory confusion attacks. By exploiting symlink manipulation and git fsmonitor execution during worktree operations, an attacker could overwrite files in the user's home directory (such as .zshenv), leading to code execution outside of seatbelt sandbox restrictions. Reliably exploiting this required the user to clone a malicious repository containing prompt injection content." This rule keys on the narrow, unambiguous ".git"-named-worktree signature rather than the full multi-step chain (symlink manipulation + fsmonitor), since that signature alone is a strong, low-noise indicator no legitimate workflow produces.

Response Actions

References

1. 01

   git worktree add invocation whose worktree path component is the reserved name .git, not an ordinary worktree/branch name

   field: contentop: regex

Attack Examples (Rule Triggers)

1. git worktree add ../.git some-branch && cd ../.git

2. run: git worktree add .git feature/exploit

3. git worktree add "../.git" main

Real-world attack payloads, sanitized and versioned alongside the rule as regression tests — so a future revision can't silently stop catching them.

Benign Examples (Rule Doesn't Trigger)

1. Ordinary worktree with a normal descriptive name, not .git

   git worktree add ../feature-branch feature/new-thing

2. Bare-repository convention path ending in .git as a suffix, not a standalone .git path component

   git worktree add /srv/repos/myproject.git feature-branch

3. .gitignore mentioned elsewhere on the line, not the worktree path itself

   git worktree add new-feature branch-x  # see .gitignore for excluded paths

4. Documentation/advisory prose describing the technique, no actual git worktree add command issued

   The advisory explains that creating a worktree named .git can trigger directory confusion.

Known False Positive Contexts

• ▸A 'git worktree add' command followed elsewhere in the same line by an unrelated file named with a .git-prefixed extension, such as .gitignore or .gitattributes -- excluded because the pattern requires .git to be immediately followed by whitespace, end of string, or a quote, not additional letters
• ▸A bare-repository path that happens to end in .git as a suffix of a longer name, e.g. 'git worktree add /srv/repos/myproject.git feature-branch' -- excluded because the pattern requires .git to be preceded by a path separator or whitespace, not by another word character
• ▸Documentation or an advisory discussing the .git worktree-naming technique in prose without an actual 'git worktree add' command being issued

title: "Git Worktree Created With Reserved Name .git (Directory-Confusion Sandbox Escape)"
id: ATR-2026-02302
rule_version: 1
status: experimental
description: >
  Detects a "git worktree add" invocation where the new worktree's path
  component is literally ".git" (e.g. "git worktree add ../.git
  some-branch"). Ordinary worktrees are never named ".git" -- this is the
  reserved name of the repository's own metadata directory, and creating a
  worktree with that name is the first step of a directory-confusion attack
  that lets a coding agent's git operations be redirected outside the
  sandboxed workspace context. Mined from GHSA-7835-87q9-rgvv (Claude Code,
  CVE-2026-55607): "Claude Code's worktree handling allowed creation of
  worktrees named '.git' and navigation to worktrees outside the sandbox
  context, enabling git directory confusion attacks. By exploiting symlink
  manipulation and git fsmonitor execution during worktree operations, an
  attacker could overwrite files in the user's home directory (such as
  .zshenv), leading to code execution outside of seatbelt sandbox
  restrictions. Reliably exploiting this required the user to clone a
  malicious repository containing prompt injection content." This rule
  keys on the narrow, unambiguous ".git"-named-worktree signature rather
  than the full multi-step chain (symlink manipulation + fsmonitor), since
  that signature alone is a strong, low-noise indicator no legitimate
  workflow produces.
author: "ATR Community (CVE sweep)"
date: "2026/07/11"
schema_version: "0.1"
detection_tier: pattern
maturity: experimental
severity: high

references:
  cve:
    - "CVE-2026-55607"
  cwe:
    - "CWE-22"
    - "CWE-59"
  owasp_llm:
    - "LLM08:2025 - Excessive Agency"
  owasp_agentic:
    - "ASI07:2026 - Agentic Sandbox Escape"
  mitre_attack:
    - "T1611 - Escape to Host"
  mitre_atlas:
    - "AML.T0054 - LLM Jailbreak"
  external:
    - "https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/security/advisories/GHSA-7835-87q9-rgvv"

metadata_provenance:
  cve: human-reviewed
  cwe: human-reviewed
  owasp_llm: human-reviewed
  owasp_agentic: human-reviewed
  mitre_attack: human-reviewed
  mitre_atlas: human-reviewed

compliance:
  eu_ai_act:
    - article: "15"
      context: "Article 15 (accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity) requires resistance to unauthorised attempts to alter system behaviour; this rule detects a git worktree directory-confusion primitive used to stage a coding-agent sandbox escape."
      strength: primary
    - article: "9"
      context: "Article 9 (risk management system) requires identified risks to be addressed by appropriate measures; this rule is a runtime risk-treatment control for the git-worktree-directory-confusion risk class."
      strength: secondary
  nist_ai_rmf:
    - subcategory: "MG.2.3"
      context: "Treating git-worktree directory confusion as an identified AI risk requires active runtime countermeasures; this detection rule is the primary risk treatment implementation."
      strength: primary
    - subcategory: "MP.5.1"
      context: "Identifying the .git-named-worktree pattern as an AI risk to be catalogued in the organizational risk register."
      strength: secondary
  iso_42001:
    - clause: "8.1"
      context: "ISO/IEC 42001 Clause 8.1 (operational planning and control) is operationalised by this rule's detection of git-worktree directory-confusion attempts."
      strength: primary
    - clause: "8.3"
      context: "ISO/IEC 42001 Clause 8.3 (AI risk treatment) is implemented via this rule's runtime detection of the sandbox-escape staging step."
      strength: secondary

tags:
  category: privilege-escalation
  subcategory: git-worktree-directory-confusion
  scan_target: llm_io
  confidence: medium

agent_source:
  type: llm_io
  framework:
    - any
  provider:
    - any

detection:
  condition: any
  conditions:
    - field: content
      operator: regex
      value: '(?i)\bgit\s+worktree\s+add\b[\s\S]{0,40}?(?:^|[\\/\s])\.git(?:\s|$|["''\x60])'
      description: "git worktree add invocation whose worktree path component is the reserved name .git, not an ordinary worktree/branch name"
  false_positives:
    - "A 'git worktree add' command followed elsewhere in the same line by an unrelated file named with a .git-prefixed extension, such as .gitignore or .gitattributes -- excluded because the pattern requires .git to be immediately followed by whitespace, end of string, or a quote, not additional letters"
    - "A bare-repository path that happens to end in .git as a suffix of a longer name, e.g. 'git worktree add /srv/repos/myproject.git feature-branch' -- excluded because the pattern requires .git to be preceded by a path separator or whitespace, not by another word character"
    - "Documentation or an advisory discussing the .git worktree-naming technique in prose without an actual 'git worktree add' command being issued"

response:
  actions:
    - block_input
    - alert
  message_template: >
    [ATR-2026-02302] A git worktree is being created with the reserved name
    .git -- treat as a directory-confusion sandbox-escape staging step, not
    a routine worktree operation.

confidence: 68
wild_fp_rate: 0

test_cases:
  true_positives:
    - input: "git worktree add ../.git some-branch && cd ../.git"
      expected: triggered
      description: "CVE-2026-55607 pattern - worktree created with the reserved name .git"
    - input: "run: git worktree add .git feature/exploit"
      expected: triggered
      description: "Worktree path is literally .git in the current directory"
    - input: "git worktree add \"../.git\" main"
      expected: triggered
      description: "Quoted worktree path .git, still matches the reserved-name signature"
  true_negatives:
    - input: "git worktree add ../feature-branch feature/new-thing"
      expected: not_triggered
      description: "Ordinary worktree with a normal descriptive name, not .git"
    - input: "git worktree add /srv/repos/myproject.git feature-branch"
      expected: not_triggered
      description: "Bare-repository convention path ending in .git as a suffix, not a standalone .git path component"
    - input: "git worktree add new-feature branch-x  # see .gitignore for excluded paths"
      expected: not_triggered
      description: ".gitignore mentioned elsewhere on the line, not the worktree path itself"
    - input: "The advisory explains that creating a worktree named .git can trigger directory confusion."
      expected: not_triggered
      description: "Documentation/advisory prose describing the technique, no actual git worktree add command issued"