isaacs node-tar up to 7.5.7 Extraction path traversal

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in isaacs node-tar. It has been classified as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component Extraction Handler. Performing a manipulation results in path traversal. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2026-26960. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in isaacs node-tar. This affects an unknown code block of the component Extraction Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

node-tar is a full-featured Tar for Node.js. When using default options in versions 7.5.7 and below, an attacker-controlled archive can create a hardlink inside the extraction directory that points to a file outside the extraction root, enabling arbitrary file read and write as the extracting user. Severity is high because the primitive bypasses path protections and turns archive extraction into a direct filesystem access primitive. This issue has been fixed in version 7.5.8.

The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-26960. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1006 for this issue.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 299677 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-26960), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 7.5.8 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (299677). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

• isaacs

Name

• node-tar

Version

• 6.2.1
• 7.5.1
• 7.5.2
• 7.5.3
• 7.5.4
• 7.5.7

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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