Description
A flaw was found in busybox. The tar applet's deferred link-creation handling for symlink and hardlink entries with unsafe-looking targets does not validate that the resolved destination remains inside the extraction directory once the deferred link is created. An attacker can craft a tar archive using a symlink target of exactly '..' combined with a deferred hardlink to create a new file outside the extraction directory, or reuse an extraction directory across two archives to replace an existing file outside it. If the archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
Published: 2026-10-09
Score: 6.3 Medium
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

No analysis available yet.

Remediation

Vendor Workaround

Avoid extracting tar archives from untrusted sources using busybox, especially with elevated privileges or into a directory that will be reused for a subsequent extraction. If untrusted archives must be processed, extract into a freshly created, isolated directory with minimal privileges on a single filesystem boundary and discard it (including any links left on disk) after each extraction.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in busybox. The tar applet's deferred link-creation handling for symlink and hardlink entries with unsafe-looking targets does not validate that the resolved destination remains inside the extraction directory once the deferred link is created. An attacker can craft a tar archive using a symlink target of exactly '..' combined with a deferred hardlink to create a new file outside the extraction directory, or reuse an extraction directory across two archives to replace an existing file outside it. If the archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
Title Busybox: busybox: tar extraction-root escape via deferred symlink/hardlink creation bypasses cve-2026-26158 fix
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Weaknesses CWE-59
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Redhat Enterprise Linux Hummingbird
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-09T16:45:59.735Z

Reserved: 2026-10-09T14:09:13.658Z

Link: CVE-2026-108119

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-10-09T17:16:46.400

Modified: 2026-10-09T17:42:00.023

Link: CVE-2026-108119

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses
  • CWE-59

    Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')