A flaw was found in BusyBox. This vulnerability allows an attacker to modify files outside of the intended extraction directory by crafting a malicious tar archive containing unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries. If the tar archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation, enabling an attacker to gain unauthorized access to critical system files.
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

As a prevention measure, avoid extracting tar archives from untrusted sources using BusyBox, especially when operating with elevated privileges. If processing untrusted archives is unavoidable, ensure that the extraction process is performed within a strictly sandboxed environment with minimal permissions. This operational control reduces the risk of arbitrary file modification and privilege escalation.

History

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Wed, 11 Feb 2026 21:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 11 Feb 2026 20:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in BusyBox. This vulnerability allows an attacker to modify files outside of the intended extraction directory by crafting a malicious tar archive containing unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries. If the tar archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation, enabling an attacker to gain unauthorized access to critical system files.
Title Busybox: busybox: arbitrary file modification and privilege escalation via unvalidated tar archive entries
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Weaknesses CWE-73
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-02-12T04:55:24.346Z

Reserved: 2026-02-11T17:05:41.991Z

Link: CVE-2026-26158

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-02-11T20:50:11.404Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-02-11T21:16:21.607

Modified: 2026-02-11T21:16:21.607

Link: CVE-2026-26158

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-02-11T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-26158 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses