CVE-2026-90954
Busybox: busybox: dpkg-deb extraction-root escape via per-ar-member deferred symlink flush
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 7.8 High
- Published
- Oct 14, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 19, 2026
- Reserved
- Sep 14, 2026
Description
A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 7.8 High | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | redhat |
Weaknesses
- CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
Red Hat Hardened ImagesRed Hat |
References
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-90954vdb-entry
- RHBZ#2533007issue-tracking
Every record here comes from the CVE Program’s CVE List. © 1999–2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. The records are reproduced under the CVE Program terms of use.