CVE-2026-31802 node-tar Symlink Path Traversal via Drive-Relative Linkpath
Attackers can overwrite files outside the extraction directory by crafting tar archives with drive-relative symlink targets in node-tar.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-31802?
CVE-2026-31802 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in isaacs node-tar, published on 9 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
node-tar is a full-featured Tar for Node.js. Prior to version 7.5.11, tar (npm) can be tricked into creating a symlink that points outside the extraction directory by using a drive-relative symlink target such as C:../../../target.txt, which enables file overwrite outside cwd during normal tar.x() extraction. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.11.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31802?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including tar. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
tar npm | All versions | 7.5.11 |
tar npm | All versions | 7.5.11 |
Products include Isaacs Tar.
How do I fix CVE-2026-31802?
Upgrade tar to 7.5.11 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-31802 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-31802 exists.
Public exploit code: 3 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in isaacs node-tar
- CVE-2026-59873 node-tar: Decompression/parse DoS via unlimited input
- CVE-2026-23950 node-tar has Race Condition in Path Reservations via Unicode Ligature Collisions on macOS APFS
- CVE-2026-59874 node-tar: Negative tar entry size causes infinite loop in archive replace
- CVE-2026-29786 node-tar: Hardlink Path Traversal via Drive-Relative Linkpath
- CVE-2026-24842 node-tar Vulnerable to Arbitrary File Creation/Overwrite via Hardlink Path Traversal
Sources
Also known as AZL-101781, CLEANSTART-2026-DZ05381, CLEANSTART-2026-NW62895, CLSA-2026-1776731786, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31802, ECHO-4999-d2de-3586 and 30 more.