How severe is CVE-2026-26960?

CVE-2026-26960 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.

Is CVE-2026-26960 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (9th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-26960?

CVE-2026-26960 affects Isaacs Tar. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2026-26960?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2026-26960 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2026-26960 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-8399.

When was CVE-2026-26960 published?

CVE-2026-26960 was published on 2026-02-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2026-26960

CVE-2026-26960 is a high-severity vulnerability in Isaacs Tar with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-22.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.1)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (9th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2026-8399
Weakness: CWE-22
Affected product: Isaacs Tar
Published: 2026-02-20
Last modified: 2026-06-17

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-26960?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2026-26960?: CVE-2026-26960 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.
Is CVE-2026-26960 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (9th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-26960?: CVE-2026-26960 affects Isaacs Tar. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-26960?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2026-26960 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2026-26960 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-8399.
When was CVE-2026-26960 published?: CVE-2026-26960 was published on 2026-02-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:isaacs:tar:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Isaacs Tar

CVE-2026-23950 — High (CVSS 8.8): node-tar,a Tar for Node.js, has a race condition vulnerability in versions up to and including 7.5.3. This is due to an…
CVE-2026-24842 — High (CVSS 8.2): node-tar,a Tar for Node.js, contains a vulnerability in versions prior to 7.5.7 where the security check for hardlink…
CVE-2026-59874 — High (CVSS 7.5): node-tar is a tar archive manipulation library for Node.js. Prior to 7.5.18, tar.replace accepts a checksum-valid tar…
CVE-2026-59873 — High (CVSS 7.5): node-tar is a tar archive manipulation library for Node.js. Prior to 7.5.19, node-tar does not enforce hard upper…
CVE-2018-20834 — High (CVSS 7.5): A vulnerability was found in node-tar before version 4.4.2 (excluding version 2.2.2). An Arbitrary File Overwrite issue…
CVE-2024-28863 — Medium (CVSS 6.5): node-tar is a Tar for Node.js. node-tar prior to version 6.2.1 has no limit on the number of sub-folders created in the…

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