tar-rs: unpack_in can chmod arbitrary directories by following symlinks
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Active
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 21 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat.
Summary
tar-rs is a tar archive reading/writing library for Rust. In versions 0.4.44 and below, when unpacking a tar archive, the tar crate's unpack_dir function uses fs::metadata() to check whether a path that already exists is a directory. Because fs::metadata() follows symbolic links, a crafted tarball containing a symlink entry followed by a directory entry with the same name causes the crate to treat the symlink target as a valid existing directory — and subsequently apply chmod to it. This allows an attacker to modify the permissions of arbitrary directories outside the extraction root. This issue has been fixed in version 0.4.45.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alexcrichton | tar-rs | before 0.4.45 | 0.4.45 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | tar (crates.io) | before 0.4.45 | 0.4.45 | Patch available | GHSA-j4xf-2g29-59ph |
- tar-rs Vendoralexcrichton Affected before 0.4.45 Fixed in 0.4.45 Patch available CNA
- tar (crates.io) Vendor— Affected before 0.4.45 Fixed in 0.4.45 Patch available GHSA-j4xf-2g29-59ph
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:tar_project:tar:*:*:*:*:*:rust:*:* | before 0.4.45 | Vulnerable | Tar Project |
- cpe:2.3:a:tar_project:tar:*:*:*:*:*:rust:*:* Versions before 0.4.45 Vulnerable ·Tar Project
Remediation
- Fix · CNA tar-rs (alexcrichton) Fixed in 0.4.45
- Fix · GHSA-j4xf-2g29-59ph tar (crates.io) Fixed in 0.4.45 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Confidential Compute Attestation | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Lightspeed Core | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| OpenShift Lightspeed | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Pen Drive Powered by Red Hat Lightspeed | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Ansible Core 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Discovery 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Offline Knowledge Portal | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Update Service | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Quay 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Satellite 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Trusted Profile Analyzer | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-33056
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-j4xf-2g29-59ph
References
More alexcrichton vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-25498 tar-rs incorrectly ignores PAX size headers if header size is nonzero CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.1
Sources
- CVE-2026-33056 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-33056 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-j4xf-2g29-59ph · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-33056 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences