# CVE-2023-38346: Path traversal in n/a

> Attackers can exploit improper path handling in tarExtract to traverse directories and access or modify files outside the intended extraction path.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 25 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5pr5-788c-3f6c

## What is CVE-2023-38346?

CVE-2023-38346 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Sep 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Wind River VxWorks 6.9 and 7. The function ``tarExtract`` implements TAR file extraction and thereby also processes files within an archive that have relative or absolute file paths. A developer using the "tarExtract" function may expect that the function will strip leading slashes from absolute paths or stop processing when encountering relative paths that are outside of the extraction path, unless otherwise forced. This could lead to unexpected and undocumented behavior, which in general could result in a directory traversal, and associated unexpected behavior.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-38346?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Windriver Vxworks.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-38346?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-38346 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-38346 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-38346 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2013-0714](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0714/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2021-29999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29999/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-9865](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9865/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2015-7599](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-7599/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2013-0711](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0711/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-38346 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-38346 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Sep 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-38346 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38346/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38346/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38346
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38346
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-38346

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38346/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.