CVE-2026-18477

Tar: tar: toctou in incremental dumpdir 'x' rename handling allows restore path escape

Published Aug 3, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 4.4 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) vulnerability in GNU tar's incremental dumpdir 'X' rename handling allows a local attacker with write access to a directory being backed up to influence the restore process if the attacker has access to the system where the restore is being performed. During restoration, files or directories may be created, renamed or overwritten outside the intended extraction directory. This could lead to unauthorized file modification or, in some cases, privilege escalation. Exploitation does not require the attacker to modify or craft the archive, and standard backup and restore workflows—including extracting into a newly created directory without using the -P option do not mitigate the issue.

Remediation

Vendor Workaround

Do not perform incremental restores (-G/-g) from untrusted archives. Avoid restoring incremental backups on systems where untrusted users have shell access,​ perform restoration only on systems inaccessible to users.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat rhel Els
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:rhel_els:6
cpe:/o:redhat:rhel_els:7
Vendors & Products Redhat rhel Els
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:5
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8 cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat rhui
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:rhui:5::el9
Vendors & Products Redhat rhui
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10 cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.2
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat discovery
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:discovery:2::el9
Vendors & Products Redhat discovery
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9 cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:gnu:tar:1.35:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openshift_container_platform:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Gnu
Gnu tar
Redhat hardened Images
Redhat openshift Container Platform
Vendors & Products Gnu
Gnu tar
Redhat hardened Images
Redhat openshift Container Platform
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) vulnerability in GNU tar's incremental dumpdir 'X' rename handling allows a local attacker with write access to a directory being backed up to influence the restore process if the attacker has access to the system where the restore is being performed. During restoration, files or directories may be created, renamed or overwritten outside the intended extraction directory. This could lead to unauthorized file modification or, in some cases, privilege escalation. Exploitation does not require the attacker to modify or craft the archive, and standard backup and restore workflows—including extracting into a newly created directory without using the -P option do not mitigate the issue.
Title Tar: tar: toctou in incremental dumpdir 'x' rename handling allows restore path escape
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat openshift
Weaknesses CWE-367
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1
cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat hummingbird
Redhat openshift
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 4.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
redhat
Published
Updated
Nov 5, 2026, 7:25 PM
Reserved
Jul 31, 2026, 10:48 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Aug 3, 2026, 5:16 PM
Modified
Nov 5, 2026, 8:17 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Jul 31, 2026, 12:00 AM