# CVE-2026-26158: Busybox: busybox: arbitrary file modification and privilege escalation via unvalidated tar archive entries

> Attackers can modify arbitrary files and escalate privileges by extracting malicious tar archives with unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries in BusyBox.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-77606, AZL-77613, BELL-CVE-2026-26158, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26158, ECHO-473c-40b9-e821, GHSA-r8f8-4pgh-4m8v, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-26158, openSUSE-SU-2026:10231-1

## What is CVE-2026-26158?

CVE-2026-26158 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, published on 11 Feb 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. 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.

Weakness: CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-26158?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `busybox` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.37.0-9.1 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-26158?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-26158 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-26158 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-26158 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-26158 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, published on 11 Feb 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-26158 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. 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-2026-26158/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26158/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-26158
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26158
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-26158

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-26158/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.