CVE-2021-32804
The npm package "tar" (aka node-tar) before versions 6.1.1, 5.0.6, 4.4.14, and 3.3.2 has a arbitrary File Creation/Overwrite vulnerability due to insufficient absolute path sanitization. node-tar aims to prevent extraction of absolute file paths by…
Does this matter?
EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 15.1%, higher than 97% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window.
Description
The npm package "tar" (aka node-tar) before versions 6.1.1, 5.0.6, 4.4.14, and 3.3.2 has a arbitrary File Creation/Overwrite vulnerability due to insufficient absolute path sanitization. node-tar aims to prevent extraction of absolute file paths by turning absolute paths into relative paths when the `preservePaths` flag is not set to `true`. This is achieved by stripping the absolute path root from any absolute file paths contained in a tar file. For example `/home/user/.bashrc` would turn into `home/user/.bashrc`. This logic was insufficient when file paths contained repeated path roots such as `////home/user/.bashrc`. `node-tar` would only strip a single path root from such paths. When given an absolute file path with repeating path roots, the resulting path (e.g. `///home/user/.bashrc`) would still resolve to an absolute path, thus allowing arbitrary file creation and overwrite. This issue was addressed in releases 3.2.2, 4.4.14, 5.0.6 and 6.1.1. Users may work around this vulnerability without upgrading by creating a custom `onentry` method which sanitizes the `entry.path` or a `filter` method which removes entries with absolute paths. See referenced GitHub Advisory for details. Be aware of CVE-2021-32803 which fixes a similar bug in later versions of tar.
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 15.07% probability · 97th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-22
- Affected
- tar project/tar · oracle/graalvm · siemens/sinec infrastructure network services
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
EPSS 15.1% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-389290.pdfPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/npm/node-tar/commit/1f036ca23f64a547bdd6c79c1a44bc62e8115da4Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/npm/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-3jfq-g458-7qm9Mitigation, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1770Mitigation, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/tarProduct, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-389290.pdfPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/npm/node-tar/commit/1f036ca23f64a547bdd6c79c1a44bc62e8115da4Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/npm/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-3jfq-g458-7qm9Mitigation, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1770Mitigation, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/tarProduct, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.