CVE-2025-45582
Description
A flaw was found in GNU Tar. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing two specially crafted TAR archives, if those archives were extracted in the same directory. The first archive contains a symbolic link that points to a critical directory. The second archive, when extracted, uses this symbolic link to overwrite sensitive files on the system, bypassing existing directory traversal protections. This could lead to unauthorized file modification or, in some cases, privilege escalation.
Mitigation
Untrusted TAR archives should always be extracted in an empty directory. When multiple untrusted archives need to be extracted, the same directory must not be re-used without removing all content extracted form the previous archive before extracting the next archive.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.6 | N/A | 4.1 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality,Integrity
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories; Modify Files or Directories
Frequently Asked Questions
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