CVE-2016-6321

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Summary

CVECVE-2016-6321
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerredhat
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2016-12-09 22:59:00 UTC
Updated2026-05-06 22:30:45 UTC
DescriptionDirectory traversal vulnerability in the safer_name_suffix function in GNU tar 1.14 through 1.29 might allow remote attackers to bypass an intended protection mechanism and write to arbitrary files via vectors related to improper sanitization of the file_name parameter, aka POINTYFEATHER.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.5 HIGH from ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

EPSS: 0.111430000 probability, percentile 0.935360000 (date 2026-05-10)

Problem Types: CWE-22 | n/a | CWE-22 CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1ADPDECLARED7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
3.1134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0Secondary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
3.0[email protected]Primary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
2.0[email protected]Primary5AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS v3.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

Access Vector
Network
Access Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Partial
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Gnu Tar 1.14 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.15 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.15.1 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.15.90 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.15.91 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.16 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.16.1 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.17 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.18 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.19 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.20 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.21 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.22 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.23 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.24 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.25 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.26 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.27 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.27.1 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.28 All All All
Application Gnu Tar 1.29 All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Na N/a affected n/a Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
sintonen.fi/advisories/tar-extract-pathname-bypass.proper.txt af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 sintonen.fi Third Party Advisory
GNU tar 1.29 Extract Pathname Bypass ≈ Packet Storm af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 packetstormsecurity.com Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
Tar: Extract pathname bypass (GLSA 201611-19) — Gentoo security af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 security.gentoo.org
Full Disclosure: [CSS] POINTYFEATHER / tar extract pathname bypass (CVE-2016-6321) - patch update af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 seclists.org Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e33b6e69... af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.apache.org
Full Disclosure: [CSS] POINTYFEATHER / tar extract pathname bypass (CVE-2016-6321) af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 seclists.org Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
GNU Tar CVE-2016-6321 Security Bypass Vulnerability af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.securityfocus.com Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
tar.git - GNU Tar af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 git.savannah.gnu.org Issue Tracking, Patch
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8c6a450... af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.apache.org
Debian -- Security Information -- DSA-3702-1 tar af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.debian.org
USN-3132-1: tar vulnerability | Ubuntu af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.ubuntu.com
Re: [Bug-tar] possible fixes for CVE-2016-6321 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.gnu.org Mailing List, Vendor Advisory
Pony Mail! MITRE lists.apache.org
Pony Mail! MITRE lists.apache.org
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Legacy QID Mappings

  • 500681 Alpine Linux Security Update for tar
  • 504450 Alpine Linux Security Update for tar
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