`proot-distro install` has a Symlink Escape (Arbitrary Host File Write) via Malicious Tar Archive

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-54574
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-07-29 17:16:52 UTC
Updated2026-07-29 20:17:04 UTC
Descriptionproot-distro is a utility for managing proot containers. Prior to version 5.1.5, proot-distro install extracted plain tarball root filesystems through _extract_plain_tar() in proot_distro/commands/install.py and Docker layers through _apply_layer() in proot_distro/helpers/docker.py without validating archive-controlled symlink targets in member.linkname, allowing a malicious archive to plant an absolute host-path symlink and write files through it onto the host filesystem. This issue is fixed in version 5.1.5.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.2 HIGH from [email protected]

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

Problem Types: CWE-61 | CWE-61 CWE-61: UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary8.2HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
3.1CNADECLARED8.2HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

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

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

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Termux Proot-distro affected < 5.1.5 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/termux/proot-distro/commit/a96d7a9667f38e45d812614852ee3915d1... [email protected] github.com
github.com/termux/proot-distro/security/advisories/GHSA-9xq3-3fqg-4vg7 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 github.com
github.com/termux/proot-distro/releases/tag/v5.1.5 [email protected] github.com
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