Root-privileged host-file manipulation via symlinked tar entries
Published Sep 14, 2026 · Updated Sep 14, 2026
Path traversal in MikroTik RouterOS before 7.24.2 allows remote authenticated users to modify host files via crafted container images. The OCI/tar extractor follows symlinks in untrusted archive members and resolves write, whiteout, and hardlink operations outside the configured container root. Exploitation requires the container package and container mode, but it can create or delete persistent files with root privileges before the container starts.
Summary
What happened
Path traversal in MikroTik RouterOS before 7.24.2 allows remote authenticated users to modify host files via crafted container images. The OCI/tar extractor follows symlinks in untrusted archive members and resolves write, whiteout, and hardlink operations outside the configured container root. Exploitation requires the container package and container mode, but it can create or delete persistent files with root privileges before the container starts.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89021
- Published
- Sep 14, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 14, 2026
- Vendor
- MikroTik
- Product
- RouterOS
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 14, 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=0 <7.24.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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
No sourced classifications are available.
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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