Libarchive: a null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the acl parser of libarchive
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-5745 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-04-07 16:16:32 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-05-03 15:15:58 UTC |
| Description | A flaw was found in libarchive. A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the ACL parsing logic, specifically within the archive_acl_from_text_nl() function. When processing a malformed ACL string (such as a bare "d" or "default" tag without subsequent fields), the function fails to perform adequate validation before advancing the pointer. An attacker can exploit this by providing a maliciously crafted archive, causing an application utilizing the libarchive API (such as bsdtar) to crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS). |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.000170000 probability, percentile 0.045080000 (date 2026-05-03)
Problem Types: CWE-476 | CWE-476 NULL Pointer Dereference
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
RequiredScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Libarchive | Libarchive | - | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 10.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 6.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 7.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 8.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 9.0 | All | All | All |
| Application | Redhat | Hardened Images | - | All | All | All |
| Application | Redhat | Openshift Container Platform | 4.0 | All | All | All |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Hardened Images | unaffected 3.8.7-1.hum1 * rpm | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Not specified | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-5745 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | Third Party Advisory |
| access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8944 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | |
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | [email protected] | bugzilla.redhat.com | Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-04-07T14:33:03.750Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2026-04-07T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.