CVE-2026-66484

Path Traversal in GNU cpio

Published Aug 10, 2026 CVSS 4.0 · 4.6 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
GNU cpio contains a Path Traversal vulnerability in its tar archive extraction functionality. When extracting a tar archive in copy-in mode with the --no-absolute-filenames option, the extracted file name is normalized but the tar hard-link target is passed to the link_to_name function without equivalent sanitization before calling link function. A tar archive provided by an attacker, containing a hard-link entry whose linkname is set to an absolute path outside the extraction directory, can cause cpio to create a hard link to an existing file outside the intended extraction directory, breaking the expected guarantee of --no-absolute-filenames and allowing archive-controlled linkage to external files.

This issue has been fixed in commit e2b9cbdd3354d2b1569b7390d1bc15c1930559ad

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8704-1 GNU cpio vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 3.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N'}

threat_severity

Low

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 GNU cpio contains a Path Traversal vulnerability in its tar archive extraction functionality. When extracting a tar archive in copy-in mode with the --no-absolute-filenames option, the extracted file name is normalized but the tar hard-link target is passed to the link_to_name function without equivalent sanitization before calling link function. A tar archive provided by an attacker, containing a hard-link entry whose linkname is set to an absolute path outside the extraction directory, can cause cpio to create a hard link to an existing file outside the intended extraction directory, breaking the expected guarantee of --no-absolute-filenames and allowing archive-controlled linkage to external files. This issue has been fixed in commit e2b9cbdd3354d2b1569b7390d1bc15c1930559ad
Title Path Traversal in GNU cpio
First Time appeared Gnu
Gnu cpio
Weaknesses CWE-22
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:gnu:cpio:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Gnu
Gnu cpio
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 4.6, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
CERT-PL
Published
Updated
Aug 10, 2026, 10:57 AM
Reserved
Jul 27, 2026, 11:32 AM
Status
Deferred
Published
Aug 10, 2026, 11:17 AM
Modified
Oct 24, 2026, 4:10 PM
Severity
Low
Public date
Aug 10, 2026, 10:25 AM