CVE-2012-2386

Description

Integer overflow in the phar_parse_tarfile function in tar.c in the phar extension in PHP before 5.3.14 and 5.4.x before 5.4.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted tar file that triggers a heap-based buffer overflow.

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

Debian

Security tracker ↗

Release	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
Debian 6.0	php5	5.3.3-7+squeeze13	DSA-2492-1

Red Hat

Security tracker ↗

Release	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
RHEL 6	php +25	5.3.3-14.el6_3	RHSA-2012:1046
RHEL 5	php53 +20	5.3.3-13.el5_8	RHSA-2012:1047

Public exploits

Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.

Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.

Exploit-DB 1

PHP 'phar' Extension 1.1.1 - Heap Overflow EDB-17201 · dos · Apr 22, 2011

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Advisories 3

RHSA-2012:1046 Red Hat Security Advisory: php security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
RHSA-2012:1047 Red Hat Security Advisory: php53 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
DSA-2492-1 php5 - buffer overflow Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026

Integer overflow in the phar_parse_tarfile function in tar.c in the phar extension in PHP before 5.3.14 and 5.4.x before 5.4.4 allows remot…