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Home CVE Database CVE-2021-37701

CVE-2021-37701

Description

The npm package tar (aka node-tar) before versions 4.4.16, 5.0.8, and 6.1.7 has an arbitrary file creation/overwrite and arbitrary code execution vulnerability. node-tar aims to guarantee that any file whose location would be modified by a symbolic link is not extracted. This is, in part, achieved by ensuring that extracted directories are not symlinks. Additionally, in order to prevent unnecessary stat calls to determine whether a given path is a directory, paths are cached when directories are created. This logic was insufficient when extracting tar files that contained both a directory and a symlink with the same name as the directory, where the symlink and directory names in the archive entry used backslashes as a path separator on posix systems. The cache checking logic used both `\\` and `/` characters as path separators, however `\\` is a valid filename character on posix systems. By first creating a directory, and then replacing that directory with a symlink, it was thus possible to bypass node-tar symlink checks on directories, essentially allowing an untrusted tar file to symlink into an arbitrary location and subsequently extracting arbitrary files into that location, thus allowing arbitrary file creation and overwrite. Additionally, a similar confusion could arise on case-insensitive filesystems. If a tar archive contained a directory at `FOO`, followed by a symbolic link named `foo`, then on case-insensitive file systems, the creation of the symbolic link would remove the directory from the filesystem, but _not_ from the internal directory cache, as it would not be treated as a cache hit. A subsequent file entry within the `FOO` directory would then be placed in the target of the symbolic link, thinking that the directory had already been created. These issues were addressed in releases 4.4.16, 5.0.8 and 6.1.7. The v3 branch of node-tar has been deprecated and did not receive patches for these issues. If you are still using a v3 release we recommend you update to a more recent version of node-tar. If this is not possible, a workaround is available in the referenced GHSA-9r2w-394v-53qc.

Priority: MEDIUM
CVSS v3: 8.2
Component: tar
Publish Date: Aug 31, 2021
Related ID: --
CVSS v2: HIGH
Modified Date: Aug 31, 2021

Find out more about CVE-2021-37701 from the MITRE-CVE dictionary and NIST NVD


Products Affected

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Product Name Status Defect Fixed Downloads
Linux
Wind River Linux LTS 17 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux 8 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux 9 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux 7 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux LTS 21 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux LTS 22 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux LTS 18 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux LTS 19 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux CD release Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux 6 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Wind River Linux LTS 23 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
VxWorks
VxWorks 7 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
VxWorks 6.9 Not Vulnerable -- -- --
Helix Virtualization Platform Cert Edition
Helix Virtualization Platform Cert Edition Not Vulnerable -- -- --

Related Products

Product Name Status Defect Fixed Downloads

Notes
Requires LTSS - customers must have active LTSS (Long Term Security Shield) Support to receive up-to-date information about vulnerabilities that may affect legacy software. Please contact your Wind River account team or see https://docs.windriver.com/bundle/Support_and_Maintenance_Supplemental_Terms_and_Conditions and https://support2.windriver.com/index.php?page=plc for more information.
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