# CVE-2026-26960: node-tar has Arbitrary File Read/Write via Hardlink Target Escape Through Symlink Chain in Extraction

CVE-2026-26960 is fixed in 31 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26960, released February 20, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-26960
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.1 (Important)
- EPSS: 0.0033
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Feb 20, 2026
- Weakness: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-26960

## 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.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | node-tar Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.1.13+~cs7.0.5-1+deb12u1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26960](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-26960.md) | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Linux | node-tar Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 6.2.1+~cs7.0.8-1+deb13u1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26960](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-26960.md) | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Linux | node-tar Debian 14 | 6.2.1+ds1+~cs6.1.13-8 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26960](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-26960.md) | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20 amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-debugsource amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-devel amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-docs amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-full-i18n amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-libs amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-libs-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:20.20.1-1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs20-npm amzn 2023 | 1:10.8.2-1.20.20.1.1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22 amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-debugsource amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-devel amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-docs amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-full-i18n amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-libs amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-libs-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:22.22.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs22-npm amzn 2023 | 1:10.9.4-1.22.22.1.1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24 amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-debugsource amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-devel amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-docs amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-full-i18n amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-libs amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-libs-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:24.14.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | nodejs24-npm amzn 2023 | 1:11.11.0-1.24.14.1.1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |
| Linux | v8-11.3-devel amzn 2023 | 3:11.3.244.8-1.20.20.1.1.amzn2023.0.2 | [ALAS2023-2026-1484](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1484.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | v8-12.4-devel amzn 2023 | 3:12.4.254.21-1.22.22.1.1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1483](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1483.md) | Mar 16, 2026 |
| Linux | v8-13.6-devel amzn 2023 | 3:13.6.233.17-1.24.14.1.1.amzn2023.0.1 | [ALAS2023-2026-1578](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-1578.md) | Apr 13, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-09T01:18:40Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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