CVE-2026-7260Public exploit

Process crash via unbounded phar symlink recursion

Published Jul 30, 2026 · Updated Jul 30, 2026

Uncontrolled recursion in PHP ext-phar allows attackers to crash a PHP process by supplying a crafted tar-based phar archive. The phar_get_link_source() function in ext/phar/util.c follows archive symlinks recursively without a depth limit or cycle detection. Processing a circular symlink entry is required; the recursion exhausts the C stack and interrupts only the affected PHP process.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled recursion in PHP ext-phar allows attackers to crash a PHP process by supplying a crafted tar-based phar archive. The phar_get_link_source() function in ext/phar/util.c follows archive symlinks recursively without a depth limit or cycle detection. Processing a circular symlink entry is required; the recursion exhausts the C stack and interrupts only the affected PHP process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-7260
Published
Jul 30, 2026
Updated
Jul 30, 2026
Vendor
The PHP Group
Product
PHP
Classifications
CWE-674, CWE-121, CWE-400, CAPEC-469, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 30, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 30, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=8.2.* <8.2.33
  2. Affected versionversion=8.3.* <8.3.33
  3. Affected versionversion=8.4.* <8.4.24
  4. Affected versionversion=8.5.* <8.5.9

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The PHP Group · PHPversion=8.2.* <8.2.33; version=8.3.* <8.3.33; version=8.4.* <8.4.24; version=8.5.* <8.5.9

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5PHP Group GitHub Security AdvisoryCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.4PHP GroupCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H/E:U

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion
CWE-121Stack-based Buffer Overflow
CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CAPEC-469HTTP DoS
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo