Vulnerability · Published May 26, 2026 · Assigned by CPANSec
CVE-2026-42497Archive::Tar versions before 3.08 for Perl extract hardlinks to attacker controlled paths outside the extraction directory
High 7.5
In plain English
A high-severity incorrect permission assignment in Archive::Tar from BINGOS. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.5% (higher than 40% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
Archive::Tar versions before 3.08 for Perl extract hardlinks to attacker controlled paths outside the extraction directory. _make_special_file() passes the tar header's linkname to link() without validating it against absolute paths or .. segments, creating a hardlink that shares the victim file's inode. A subsequent write through the extracted name modifies the victim file, and the post-extraction chmod, chown, and utime block in _extract_file() (guarded only against symlinks via -l) applies the tar header's mode, owner, and timestamps to the shared inode during extraction alone.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.24 | perl | 5.42.3-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-42497 |
| Debian:12 | perl | 5.36.0-7+deb12u4 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-42497 |
| Debian:13 | perl | 5.40.1-6+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-42497 |
| Debian:14 | perl | 5.42.3-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-42497 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | perl | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-42497 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | perl | 5.38.2-3.2ubuntu0.3 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-42497 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | perl | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-42497 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | perl | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-42497 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| BINGOS | Archive::Tar | 0 – before 3.08 |
Weakness: CWE-59, CWE-732 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N