Vulnerability · Published Mar 9, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-31802node-tar Symlink Path Traversal via Drive-Relative Linkpath
High 8.2
In plain English
A high-severity path traversal in node-tar from isaacs. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 21% of all known vulnerabilities). Ready-made attack tooling exists: public proof-of-concept code. Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
node-tar is a full-featured Tar for Node.js. Prior to version 7.5.11, tar (npm) can be tricked into creating a symlink that points outside the extraction directory by using a drive-relative symlink target such as C:../../../target.txt, which enables file overwrite outside cwd during normal tar.x() extraction. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.11.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | node-tar | 6.2.1+ds1+~cs6.1.13-10 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31802 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | node-tar | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31802 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | node-tar | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31802 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | node-tar | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31802 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | node-tar | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31802 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | node-tar | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31802 |
| npm | tar | 7.5.11 | GHSA-9ppj-qmqm-q256 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-22 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:N