node-tar applies PAX size override to intermediary GNU long-name/long-link headers, causing tar parser interpretation differential (file smuggling)_CVE-2026-53655

{
    "lastseen": "",
    "description": "node-tar is a full-featured Tar for Node.js. Prior to 7.5.16, tar (node-tar) applies a PAX extended header's size= record (and other PAX overrides) to the next header entry of any type, including intermediary metadata headers such as a GNU long-name (L) or long-link (K) entry. Per POSIX pax, a PAX extended header (x) describes the next file entry, not the intermediary extension headers that may sit between the x header and the file it annotates. Because node-tar lets the PAX size override the byte length of an intervening L/K/x header, an attacker can desynchronize node-tar's stream cursor relative to every other mainstream tar implementation (GNU tar, libarchive/bsdtar, Python tarfile, and the now-fixed tar-rs / astral-tokio-tar). The result is a tar parser interpretation differential (CWE-436): a single crafted archive yields a different set of members under node-tar than under the reference tar tools. An attacker can use this to hide a member from one parser while it is visible to another, which defeats security tooling whose scanner and extractor disagree on archive contents (e.g. a malware/secret scanner that lists entries with one library while a downstream step extracts with another) This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.16.",
    "published": "2026-06-22T14:55:50.133Z",
    "modified": "2026-06-22T14:55:50.133Z",
    "type": "cve",
    "title": "node-tar applies PAX size override to intermediary GNU long-name/long-link headers, causing tar parser interpretation differential (file smuggling)",
    "source": "GitHub_M",
    "references": "https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-vmf3-w455-68vh",
    "id": "CVE-2026-53655",
    "bulletinFamily": "",
    "cwe": [
        "CWE-436"
    ],
    "cvelist": null,
    "sourceData": "isaacs node-tar < 7.5.16",
    "sourceHref": "",
    "cvss": {
        "score": 6.9,
        "severity": "MEDIUM",
        "vector": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
        "version": "4.0"
    },
    "cvss2": [],
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        "baseScore": 0,
        "baseSeverity": "",
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        "confidentialityImpact": "",
        "integrityImpact": "",
        "availabilityImpact": "",
        "cvssV3": {
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    },
    "href": "",
    "category_name": "CVE",
    "post_link": "",
    "product": "node-tar",
    "version": "< 7.5.16",
    "vendor": "isaacs",
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    "ai_score": 0
}