# CVE-2026-79655: Sos: sos: path traversal in sos clean tar extraction via unvalidated symlink/hardlink targets leads to arbitrary file write

CVE-2026-79655 is fixed in sos on 1 platform by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-79655 (version 4.12.0-2), released August 25, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-79655
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.8 (Important)
- EPSS: 0.0021
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Aug 25, 2026
- Weakness: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-79655

## Description

A flaw was found in sos clean, a utility within the sos package. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to perform arbitrary file creation or overwrite. By crafting a malicious tar archive, an attacker can exploit a path traversal issue during tar extraction, where symlink and hardlink targets are not properly validated. This enables the attacker to write files to arbitrary locations on the system with the privileges of the sos clean process, which often runs as root.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | sos Debian 14 | 4.12.0-2 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-79655](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-79655.md) | Aug 25, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-08T06:59:42Z 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 Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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