Path traversal in node-tar - CVE-2026-31802
Published: April 22, 2026 / Updated: April 23, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU126872
CSH Severity: Low
CVSSv4.0: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-31802
CWE-ID: CWE-22
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
Public exploit is available
Vulnerable software:
node-tar
node-tar
Software vendor:
isaacs
isaacs
Description
The vulnerability allows a local user to perform directory traversal attacks.
The vulnerability exists due to input validation error when processing directory traversal sequences. A local user can trick tar (npm) into creating a symlink that points outside the extraction directory by using a drive-relative symlink target such as C:../../../target.txt, which enables file overwrite outside cwd during normal tar.x() extraction.
Remediation
Install updates from vendor's website.