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TI-2016-05412 Aliases CVE-2016-6321GHSA-4qpm-74c6-fg44

Directory traversal vulnerability in the safer_name_suffix function in GNU tar 1.14…

Priority HIGH 72CWE-22Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · High · None
Fix status
Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

Directory traversal vulnerability in the safer_name_suffix function in GNU tar 1.14 through 1.29 might allow remote attackers to bypass an intended protection mechanism and write to arbitrary files via vectors related to improper sanitization of the file_name parameter, aka POINTYFEATHER.

Why it matters now

Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.15745 96th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
Poc
Automatable
Yes
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
——all versions—No fix listedCNA
  • — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 21

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.14VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.15VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.15.1VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15.90:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.15.90VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15.91:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.15.91VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.16VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.16.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.16.1VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.17VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.18VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.19VulnerableGNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.14 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.15 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.15.1 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15.90:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.15.90 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.15.91:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.15.91 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.16 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.16.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.16.1 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.17 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.18 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.19:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.19 Vulnerable ·GNU
Show 11 more CPE
CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.20VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.21VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.22VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.23VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.24VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.25VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.26VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.27:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.27VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.27.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.27.1VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.28:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.28VulnerableGNU
cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.29:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.29VulnerableGNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.20 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.21 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.22 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.23:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.23 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.24:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.24 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.25 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.26 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.27:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.27 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.27.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.27.1 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.28:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.28 Vulnerable ·GNU
  • cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.29:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.29 Vulnerable ·GNU

Remediation

No fixed version listed by the sources yet.

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5AffectedNo fix planned: Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix planned: Will not fix
Not affected: 3 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2016-6321
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4qpm-74c6-fg44

References

Exploit 1

Patch 2

Advisory 6

Other 2

  • TI-2019-07294 pax_decode_header in sparse.c in GNU Tar before 1.32 had a NULL pointer dereference when… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
  • TI-2022-23920 GNU Tar through 1.34 has a one-byte out-of-bounds read that results in use of… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
  • TI-2025-28801 Path traversal in GNU Tar CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 4.1
  • TI-2005-02406 Tar 1.15.1 does not properly warn the user when extracting setuid or setgid files, which… CVSS 2.0HIGH 10.0
  • TI-2007-04334 Buffer overflow in the safer_name_suffix function in GNU tar has unspecified attack… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.5
  • TI-2010-00595 Heap-based buffer overflow in the rmt_read__ function in lib/rtapelib.c in the rmt client… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 6.8
See all 19 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences