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From: Tian Yuchen <a3205153416@gmail.com>
To: git@vger.kernel.org
Cc: gitster@pobox.com
Subject: [RFC] setup: fail if .git is not a file or directory
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2026 02:21:22 +0800	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260211182122.35352-1-a3205153416@gmail.com> (raw)

Currently, `setup_git_directory_gently_1()` checks if `.git` is a
regular file (handling submodules/worktrees) or a directory. If it is
neither (e.g., a FIFO), the code hits a NEEDSWORK comment and simply
ignores the entity, continuing the discovery process in the parent
directory.

This behavior can be very dangerous. If a user is inside a subdirectory
containing a melformed/broken `.git` entity, the Git will traverse up,
attach to a parent repository and might execute destructive commands.

I tried to resolve the NEEDSWORK by using `lstat()` to explicitly check
the entity's mode. If it is neither a regular file nor a directory, we
kill the discovery process.

But I still have questions:
1. Is failing hard the desired behavior here? Should skipping it and
   continuing discovery be an option for the user, which might seem
   more fault-tolerant?
2. Should we die() immediately here, or return GIT_DIR_INVALID_GITFILE
   and let the caller decide?

Signed-off-by: Tian Yuchen <a3205153416@gmail.com>
---
 setup.c | 12 +++++++++++-
 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index 3a6a048620..a1b56de67a 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -1581,7 +1581,17 @@ static enum discovery_result setup_git_directory_gently_1(struct strbuf *dir,
 		if (!gitdirenv) {
 			if (die_on_error ||
 			    error_code == READ_GITFILE_ERR_NOT_A_FILE) {
-				/* NEEDSWORK: fail if .git is not file nor dir */
+				struct stat st;
+				if (!lstat(dir->buf, &st) &&
+					!S_ISREG(st.st_mode) &&
+					!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)){
+
+					if (die_on_error)
+						die(_("Invalid %s: not a regular file or directory"), dir->buf);
+					else
+						return GIT_DIR_INVALID_GITFILE;
+				}
+
 				if (is_git_directory(dir->buf)) {
 					gitdirenv = DEFAULT_GIT_DIR_ENVIRONMENT;
 					gitdir_path = xstrdup(dir->buf);
-- 
2.43.0


             reply	other threads:[~2026-02-11 18:21 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 35+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-02-11 18:21 Tian Yuchen [this message]
2026-02-11 19:47 ` [RFC] setup: fail if .git is not a file or directory Junio C Hamano
2026-02-12 17:33   ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-12 17:24 ` [PATCH v2] " Tian Yuchen
2026-02-12 20:59   ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-13 16:37     ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-14  4:52   ` [PATCH v3] " Tian Yuchen
2026-02-15  8:41     ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-15 16:22       ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-16  2:37         ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-16 16:02           ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-17  8:41             ` [PATCH v4] setup: allow cwd/.git to be a symlink to a directory Tian Yuchen
2026-02-17 11:26               ` Karthik Nayak
2026-02-17 15:30                 ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-17 18:56                   ` Karthik Nayak
2026-02-17 21:10                     ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-17 17:01                 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-17 18:50                   ` Karthik Nayak
2026-02-18  4:08                     ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-17 17:59               ` Karthik Nayak
2026-02-18  5:18               ` [PATCH v5 0/2] setup.c: v5 reroll Tian Yuchen
2026-02-18  5:18                 ` [PATCH v5 1/2] setup: distingush ENOENT from other stat errors Tian Yuchen
2026-02-18 10:12                   ` Karthik Nayak
2026-02-18 11:11                     ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-18 18:15                   ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-18 18:43                     ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-18  5:18                 ` [PATCH v5 2/2] setup: allow cwd/.git to be a symlink to a directory Tian Yuchen
2026-02-18 10:27                   ` Karthik Nayak
2026-02-18 11:20                     ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-18 18:25                   ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-19  5:11                     ` Tian Yuchen
2026-02-15 17:08       ` [PATCH v3] setup: fail if .git is not a file or directory Tian Yuchen
2026-02-12 22:39 ` [RFC] " brian m. carlson
2026-02-12 22:45   ` Junio C Hamano
2026-02-12 23:03     ` brian m. carlson

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