CVE-2023-39804

Application crash via stack-allocated PAX attributes

Published Mar 27, 2024 · Updated Nov 4, 2025

Stack overflow in GNU tar before 1.35 allows local users to crash the application by extracting a crafted PAX archive. The xattr_decoder function allocates attacker-controlled extended-attribute keys and values on the stack, exhausting stack space as crafted attribute sizes grow. The user must cause an affected tar process to parse the archive; the demonstrated consequence is process termination without data disclosure or modification.

CVSS severity6.2
Medium
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Stack overflow in GNU tar before 1.35 allows local users to crash the application by extracting a crafted PAX archive. The xattr_decoder function allocates attacker-controlled extended-attribute keys and values on the stack, exhausting stack space as crafted attribute sizes grow. The user must cause an affected tar process to parse the archive; the demonstrated consequence is process termination without data disclosure or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-39804
Published
Mar 27, 2024
Updated
Nov 4, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 27, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 4, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.2CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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