I used git for the last few years in this context:

• Host = my laptop, windows.
• WSL enabled
• Repos live in the Linux side.
• I access them both from the Linux and the Windows side.

I can access the files in Linux either via git-bash like this (via the //wsl$/ share):

Or natively in the WSL bash terminal:

Those accesses go to the very same directory.

Error

Now it happens that if I do git status inside a repo from the windows side it gives the error fatal: detected dubious ownership in repository at:

While in the WSL-Linux it does not, for the same directory:

Since when?

It did not happen before. I've been using this setup for years. This started happening 2 days ago.

In fact, I installed a newer version of git-bash 2 days ago and I suspect the bash environment could condition this.

I work with about 100 repos, and I have found to fail in all of them which I've tried (about 10 repos). Expectedly it'll happen to those 100 repos.

None of those previously-working now-failing repos have been touched, so neither users, neither permissions have changed.

So mutating from "well" to "bad" is not in the filesystem side, must be in the git-bash side.

Problem

I don't want to just white-list it with safe.directory. I want to understand what's going on behind the scenes. Why it happens today and not 3 days ago. I want to know "what does git expect" and see how can I correct it.

Investigation so far

The users seem correct. From the linux side:

And from the windows side it also matches the hard disk and the id:

Question

How can I tell the ownership that is expected by git for it to do not complain?

In fact, I installed a newer version of git-bash 2 days ago and I suspect the bash environment could condition this.

I understand you installed a new version of Git for Windows, which includes Git Bash. Newer versions of Git, starting with 2.35.2 and 2.36, including Git for Windows, are stricter about directory ownership: https://github.blog/2022-04-18-highlights-from-git-2-36/#stricter-repository-ownership-checks.

When you use git from Git Bash, you use the Windows program, even if you cd to the //wsl$/ mount. Git for Windows does not have any special code to deal with the permissions of the WSL mount, so that's why you get the error. You can't fix that without modifying the Git source code.

An alternative could be to use wsl git instead of git when in Git Bash, which would then use the Linux executable.

Or, as you wrote, just use git config --global safe.directory '*' to bypass that security feature if you do not consider yourself at risk. If you want to only bypass this warning without modifying your config, you can do it with -c as noted here: git -c safe-directory='*' <your sub-command here>

[Editor's Note: If you are using Windows Command Prompt, do not add single-quotes to the asterisk, i.e., git config --global safe.directory *.]