CVE-2026-18508
Description
A flaw was found in GNU tar. When extracting an archive with the --one-top-level option, hardlink targets are not confined to the designated top-level directory and may resolve relative to the extraction working directory. A crafted archive can create hardlinks that escape the intended boundary and, when combined with a preexisting symbolic link under the working directory, may allow writing outside that boundary during a single extraction.
Statement
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is affected. This issue only applies when the --one-top-level option is used to extract an untrusted archive. Default tar extraction without --one-top-level is not impacted by this specific boundary failure. Users should avoid using --one-top-level as the sole confinement mechanism for untrusted archives until fixed packages are available.
Mitigation
Do not use --one-top-level as the sole confinement mechanism when extracting untrusted archives. Prefer extracting as an unprivileged user into a freshly created empty directory after changing into that directory (mkdir and cd), avoid extracting as root from sensitive working directories such as /, and follow the GNU tar security guidance for untrusted archives.
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 | 4.4 | N/A | 4.4 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality,Integrity,Access Control
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories; Modify Files or Directories; Bypass Protection Mechanism
An attacker may be able to traverse the file system to unintended locations and read or overwrite the contents of unexpected files. If the files are used for a security mechanism then an attacker may be able to bypass the mechanism.
Other
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Windows simple shortcuts, sometimes referred to as soft links, can be exploited remotely since a ".LNK" file can be uploaded like a normal file. This can enable remote execution.
Acknowledgements
This issue was discovered by Pavel Cahyna (Red Hat).
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