Busybox: busybox: arbitrary file overwrite and potential code execution via incomplete path sanitization

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-26157
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerredhat
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-02-11 21:16:21 UTC
Updated2026-05-05 21:16:21 UTC
DescriptionA flaw was found in BusyBox. Incomplete path sanitization in its archive extraction utilities allows an attacker to craft malicious archives that when extracted, and under specific conditions, may write to files outside the intended directory. This can lead to arbitrary file overwrite, potentially enabling code execution through the modification of sensitive system files.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7 HIGH from [email protected]

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

EPSS: 0.001400000 probability, percentile 0.335830000 (date 2026-05-05)

Problem Types: CWE-73 | CWE-73 External Control of File Name or Path

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1CNACVSS7HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

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

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

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images unaffected 1.37.0-7.2.hum1 * rpm Not specified
CNA Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Not specified Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
git.busybox.net/busybox/commit/archival [email protected] git.busybox.net
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi [email protected] bugzilla.redhat.com
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-26157 [email protected] access.redhat.com
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:13831 [email protected] access.redhat.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

CNA: Red Hat would like to thank Calil Khalil (Hakal) for reporting this issue. (en)

Additional Advisory Data

SourceTimeEvent
CNA2026-02-11T17:54:52.728ZReported to Red Hat.
CNA2026-02-11T00:00:00.000ZMade public.

Workarounds

CNA: As a prevention measure, avoid extracting archives from untrusted sources using BusyBox utilities. If extraction of untrusted archives is necessary, perform it within a highly isolated and restricted environment, such as a container with a read-only root filesystem and minimal privileges, to limit the potential impact of arbitrary file overwrites.

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