Ubuntu update for tar

1) Memory leak

EUVDB-ID: #VU50978

Risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-20193

CWE-ID: CWE-401 - Missing release of memory after effective lifetime

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform DoS attack on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due memory leak within the read_header() function in list.c. A remote attacker can pass specially crafted archive to the application and force it to leak memory, which eventually results in a denial of service condition.

Mitigation

Update the affected package tar to the latest version.

Vulnerable software versions

Ubuntu: 14.04 - 20.04

tar (Ubuntu package): before 1.29b-2ubuntu0.3

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu:14.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu:16.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu:18.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu:20.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:canonical:tar_ubuntu_package:*:*:*:*:*:ubuntu:*:*

External links

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-5329-1

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.