THREATPORT/VULNERABILITY/CVE-2021-32803
HIGH SEVERITY

CVE-2021-32803

Tar vulnerability

CVSS
8.2
EPSS
7.8%
EPSS pct
94th
Exploited
No known
The npm package "tar" (aka node-tar) before versions 6.1.2, 5.0.7, 4.4.15, and 3.2.3 has an arbitrary File Creation/Overwrite vulnerability via insufficient symlink protection. `node-tar` aims to guarantee that any file whose location would be modified by a symbolic link is not extracted. This is, in part, achieved by ensuring that extracted directories are not symlinks. Additionally, in order to prevent unnecessary `stat` calls to determine whether a given path is a directory, paths are cached when directories are created. This logic was insufficient when extracting tar files that contained both a directory and a symlink with the same name as the directory. This order of operations resulted in the directory being created and added to the `node-tar` directory cache. When a directory is present in the directory cache, subsequent calls to mkdir for that directory are skipped. However, this is also where `node-tar` checks for symlinks occur. By first creating a directory, and then replacing that directory with a symlink, it was thus possible to bypass `node-tar` symlink checks on directories, essentially allowing an untrusted tar file to symlink into an arbitrary location and subsequently extracting arbitrary files into that location, thus allowing arbitrary file creation and overwrite. This issue was addressed in releases 3.2.3, 4.4.15, 5.0.7 and 6.1.2.
Affected vendor
Tar Project
Affected product
Tar
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Weakness type (CWE)
Published
2021-08-03

Risk analysis

Based on its CVSS vector, this vulnerability is exploitable with local access, low attack complexity, requiring no privileges, user interaction. Successful exploitation leads to high impact to confidentiality, high impact to integrity.

Its EPSS score of 7.8% reflects a lower probability of exploitation activity in the wild over the next 30 days, placing it above 94% of all scored CVEs.

Check your external exposure to CVE-2021-32803

  • Confirm whether Tar Project Tar is running on any internet-facing host or subdomain.
  • Match discovered service fingerprints against the version affected by CVE-2021-32803.
  • Prioritise remediation if the asset is public, business-critical, or near authentication/payment flows.

How ThreatPort helps with CVE-2021-32803

ThreatPort's external attack surface scanner checks your internet-facing assets — agentlessly, from the outside in — for the exposed services and versions that CVE-2021-32803 affects, then prioritises the finding by real risk using CISA KEV and FIRST.org EPSS.

Run a free external exposure scan

Are you exposed to CVE-2021-32803?

Run an instant, non-intrusive external scan to check your attack surface for CVE-2021-32803.

Start free scan

No credit card. Agentless.