File read and overwrite via hardlink path mismatch
Published Jan 28, 2026 · Updated Jan 28, 2026
Path traversal in the tar npm package before 7.5.7 allows remote attackers to read or overwrite files via a crafted hardlink entry. In src/unpack.ts, validation resolves a hardlink target from the archive entry's directory, but creation resolves it from the extraction directory. An application must extract the malicious archive; reading through the created link exposes process-readable data, while a later write through it changes the target.
Summary
What happened
Path traversal in the tar npm package before 7.5.7 allows remote attackers to read or overwrite files via a crafted hardlink entry. In src/unpack.ts, validation resolves a hardlink target from the archive entry's directory, but creation resolves it from the extraction directory. An application must extract the malicious archive; reading through the created link exposes process-readable data, while a later write through it changes the target.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-24842
- Published
- Jan 28, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 28, 2026
- Vendor
- Isaac Z. Schlueter
- Product
- tar
- Classifications
- CWE-59, CWE-22
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 28, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 7.5.7
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- GHSA-34x7-hfp2-rc4v hardlink escape PoCproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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