High severity · published Feb 20, 2026
CVE-2026-26960
node-tar has Arbitrary File Read/Write via Hardlink Target Escape Through Symlink Chain in Extraction
7.1
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
node-tar is a full-featured Tar for Node.js. When using default options in versions 7.5.7 and below, an attacker-controlled archive can create a hardlink inside the extraction directory that points to a file outside the extraction root, enabling arbitrary file read and write as the extracting user. Severity is high because the primitive bypasses path protections and turns archive extraction into a direct filesystem access primitive. This issue has been fixed in version 7.5.8.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 26% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
NO
node-tar · isaacs
< 7.5.8 · source: vendor
TA
Tar · Isaacs
before 7.5.8 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26960
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-26960
Patch
https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/commit/2cb1120bcefe28d7ecc719b41441ade59c52e384
Patch
https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/commit/d18e4e1f846f4ddddc153b0f536a19c050e7499f
Exploit
https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-83g3-92jg-28cx
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