CVE-2026-90954

Busybox: busybox: dpkg-deb extraction-root escape via per-ar-member deferred symlink flush

Published Oct 14, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Remediation

Vendor Workaround

Do not use BusyBox dpkg-deb to extract untrusted .deb packages. Use Debian's reference dpkg-deb implementation, which treats the extraction root as a boundary and is not affected by this issue. If BusyBox dpkg-deb must be used, inspect .deb archives for multiple data.tar members before extraction (legitimate .deb packages contain exactly one data.tar member).

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Busybox
Busybox busybox
Redhat hardened Images
Vendors & Products Busybox
Busybox busybox
Redhat hardened Images
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

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

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.
Title Busybox: busybox: dpkg-deb extraction-root escape via per-ar-member deferred symlink flush
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat hummingbird
Weaknesses CWE-59
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:hummingbird:1
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat hummingbird
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
redhat
Published
Updated
Nov 11, 2026, 8:15 PM
Reserved
Sep 14, 2026, 11:58 AM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Oct 14, 2026, 10:17 AM
Modified
Oct 19, 2026, 8:21 PM
Severity
Important
Public date
Oct 14, 2026, 8:00 AM