Description
node-tar is a full-featured Tar for Node.js. Prior to 7.5.16, tar (node-tar) applies a PAX extended header's size= record (and other PAX overrides) to the next header entry of any type, including intermediary metadata headers such as a GNU long-name (L) or long-link (K) entry. Per POSIX pax, a PAX extended header (x) describes the next file entry, not the intermediary extension headers that may sit between the x header and the file it annotates. Because node-tar lets the PAX size override the byte length of an intervening L/K/x header, an attacker can desynchronize node-tar's stream cursor relative to every other mainstream tar implementation (GNU tar, libarchive/bsdtar, Python tarfile, and the now-fixed tar-rs / astral-tokio-tar). The result is a tar parser interpretation differential (CWE-436): a single crafted archive yields a different set of members under node-tar than under the reference tar tools. An attacker can use this to hide a member from one parser while it is visible to another, which defeats security tooling whose scanner and extractor disagree on archive contents (e.g. a malware/secret scanner that lists entries with one library while a downstream step extracts with another) This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.16.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| isaacs | node-tar | < 7.5.16 | — |
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 14 | node-tar | 7.5.16+~4.0.1-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | node-tar | No fix yet | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | nodejs24 +4 | 1:24.18.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | ALAS2023-2026-2059 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | nodejs24-npm | 1:11.16.0-1.24.18.1.1.amzn2023.0.2 | ALAS2023-2026-2059 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | v8-13.6-devel | 3:13.6.233.17-1.24.18.1.1.amzn2023.0.2 | ALAS2023-2026-2059 |
Wolfi
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfi rolling | code-server | 4.124.2-r1 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | jupyter-base-notebook | 7.6.3-r2 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | katib-earlystopping +8 | 0.19.0-r31 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | katib-suggestion-goptuna-compat | 0.19.0-r40 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | lerna | 9.0.7-r10 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | npm | 11.17.0-r2 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | pnpm-stage0 | 8.7.4-r7 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | prism | 5.15.11-r3 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | pulumi-language-nodejs | 3.246.0-r1 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | py3.10-jupyterlab +3 | 4.6.1-r1 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | renovate | 43.235.1-r0 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | saf | 1.6.0-r1 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | sqlpad | 7.5.7-r28 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | thingsboard-tb-web-ui +1 | 4.3.1.3-r1 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | tileserver-gl | 5.6.0-r7 | — |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| npm | tar | < 7.5.16 | 7.5.16 | GHSA-vmf3-w455-68vh |
Advisories 2
- WID-SEC-2026-2488 IBM App Connect Enterprise: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-2059 Important: nodejs24 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Aug 21, 2026