Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious tar archive can make vulnerable node-tar versions overwrite files outside the intended extraction folder. This creates a serious integrity risk for services, build systems, or developer tools that automatically unpack untrusted archives. Version 7.5.10 contains the patch.
Executive priority
Prioritize rapid remediation for internet-facing ingestion, CI/CD, package-processing, and automated extraction systems. Other deployments should follow normal high-severity patch timelines after confirming dependency reachability. Focus first on systems combining vulnerable versions, untrusted archives, and meaningful filesystem permissions.
Technical view
Before 7.5.10, node-tar improperly validates drive-relative hardlink targets such as Windows-style paths. During normal tar.x() extraction, a crafted archive can create a hardlink outside the working directory and overwrite an external file. The supplied CVSS 3.1 score is 8.6, reflecting low-complexity, unauthenticated integrity impact across a security boundary.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where node-tar below 7.5.10 extracts attacker-controlled or externally supplied archives, especially in Windows environments where drive-relative paths apply. Internet reachability is not required if archives enter through uploads, packages, build inputs, automation, or other untrusted channels. The bundle does not identify specific downstream applications.
Exploitation context
The supplied evidence does not establish active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV in the bundle. Exploitation requires a crafted archive to be processed by vulnerable node-tar extraction. No exploit prevalence, public weaponization, or observed campaigns are documented in the provided sources.
Researcher notes
The issue maps to CWE-22 path traversal and CWE-59 link-following weaknesses. Its principal documented effect is arbitrary file overwrite outside the extraction directory, producing high integrity impact without claimed confidentiality or availability impact. The supplied bundle does not clarify platform breadth beyond the drive-relative path example or identify affected downstream products.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade node-tar to version 7.5.10 or later.
- Identify and update vulnerable transitive dependencies through supported parent-package releases.
- Restrict archive extraction to trusted inputs until upgrades are complete.
- Run extraction with minimal filesystem permissions and isolate temporary working directories.
Validation and detection
- Review manifests, lockfiles, and deployed dependency inventories for node-tar versions below 7.5.10.
- Confirm production artifacts resolve node-tar to version 7.5.10 or later.
- Identify workflows that extract uploaded, downloaded, packaged, or otherwise untrusted tar archives.
- Verify extraction processes cannot modify sensitive files outside their designated working directories.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-59: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-29786 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N3.94redhat-SADPCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:H/SA:L——GitHub_MVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.2HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:H/SA:L
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.6HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Made public.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Reported to Red Hat.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2026-03-07T16:01:27.956Z: Reported to Red Hat.
- 2026-03-07T15:32:22.748Z: Made public.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-qffp-2rhf-9h96CVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/commit/7bc755dd85e623c0279e08eb3784909e6d7e4b9fCVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_MISC
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-29786CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2445476CVE reference, redhat-SADP · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-29786.jsonCVE reference, redhat-SADP · x_sadp-csaf-vex
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.