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CVE-2026-55738

HIGH
8.8
CVSS 3.1
Description
A stack-based buffer overflow exists in the raw_to_header() function in src/microtar.c in rxi microtar 0.1.0. The function copies the 100-byte name and linkname fields of a TAR header with strcpy() without guaranteeing null termination of the source. The POSIX ustar format permits these fixed-width fields to be fully populated with non-null bytes, so a crafted archive whose linkname field (followed by the trailing padding of the 512-byte raw header) contains no null terminator causes strcpy() to read past the end of the 512-byte raw header stack buffer and to write past the destination header buffer. A remote attacker who supplies a crafted TAR archive that the victim opens or parses (via mtar_open(), mtar_read_header(), or mtar_find()) can cause an out-of-bounds read and a stack buffer overflow, resulting in denial of service (crash) and potentially arbitrary code execution. Confirmed with AddressSanitizer: stack-buffer-overflow READ of size 356 in raw_to_header at src/microtar.c:112.

Metadata

CVE ID
CVE-2026-55738
State
PUBLISHED
Assigner
TuranSec
Reserved
2026-06-17 12:59 UTC
Published
2026-06-17 13:45 UTC
Last updated
2026-06-17 15:00 UTC
Primary CWE
CWE-121
CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow
Vendor / Product
rxi / microtar
Sources
cve.org  ·  NVD

Severity & Metrics

8.8 HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SSVC — CISA Coordinator
Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Tech. Impact
total
Affected products (1)
VendorProductPlatformVersions
rxi microtar 0.1.0
Weakness (CWE)
CWESourceDescription
CWE-121 cna CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow
CWE-170 cna CWE-170 Improper Null Termination
CVSS scores (2)
ScoreSeverityVersionSourceVector
8.8 HIGH 3.1 cna CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.7 HIGH 4.0 cna CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
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