CVE-2026-26158
This vulnerability allows an attacker to modify files outside of the intended extraction directory by crafting a malicious tar archive containing unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.17%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
A flaw was found in BusyBox. This vulnerability allows an attacker to modify files outside of the intended extraction directory by crafting a malicious tar archive containing unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries. If the tar archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation, enabling an attacker to gain unauthorized access to critical system files.
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.0 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.17% probability · 6th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-73
- Source
- secalert@redhat.com
References
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:13831
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-26158
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2439040
- https://git.busybox.net/busybox/commit/archival?id=3fb6b31c716669e12f75a2accd31bb7685b1a1cb
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:13831
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-26158
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2439040
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-253495.html
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-26158.json
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.