This flaw lets the tarfile module ignore the extraction filter, permitting attackers to craft tar archives that create symbolic links pointing to arbitrary locations outside the intended extraction directory. When TarFile.extractall() or TarFile.extract() is called with filter='data' or 'tar', the symlink creation is not constrained, and file metadata can be altered. The result is potential overwrite of critical files, enabling persistence or privilege escalation. The weakness is a Path Traversal flaw (CWE‑22).

The vulnerability affects CPython – the official Python implementation – wherever the tarfile module can be invoked with the extraction filters 'data' or 'tar'. Python 3.14 and later are partially affected due to the change in the default filter value from 'no filtering' to 'data', so any use of tarfile to extract untrusted archives is exposed. Many Linux distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8‑10, ship these Python versions, making them susceptible if they run applications that perform tar extraction.

The CVSS score of 7.5 signals a high severity for the potential to write across file boundaries, and the EPSS < 1 % indicates that exploitation is expected to be rare at present. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Attackers can exploit the flaw by delivering malicious tar archives to a Python process that performs extraction with 'data' or 'tar' filters, either locally or over a network. The attack requires code execution during extraction; it does not grant arbitrary code execution by itself but can lead to integrity compromise or serve as a foothold for further escalation.