CVE-2026-124744 Busybox: cpio hardlink target not sanitized under feature_path_traversal_protection
A crafted cpio archive can create hardlinks outside the extraction directory in BusyBox, overwriting arbitrary files on later extraction.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Harmful if only installed
- No
- Needs a specific call
- No
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-124744?
CVE-2026-124744 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, published on 11 Nov 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
A flaw was found in BusyBox. When extracting files using the cpio utility with path traversal protection enabled, hardlink target paths are not properly sanitized. By tricking a user or automated process into extracting a crafted archive, an attacker can create hardlinks that point to files outside the intended extraction directory. This issue may allow an attacker to modify or overwrite arbitrary files outside the target directory during subsequent extraction operations.
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-124744?
Only installations with a non-default setting turned on are exposed.
How do I fix CVE-2026-124744?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-124744 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-124744 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-124744 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-5jg6-27f2-v2xm, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-124744.