MikroTik RouterOS Path Traversal via Container OCI/tar Image Extraction
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-89021 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | VulnCheck |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-14 19:17:54 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-24 21:04:40 UTC |
| Description | MikroTik RouterOS before 7.24.2 contains a path traversal vulnerability in the container package OCI/tar image extraction that allows attackers to write files outside the container root by supplying a crafted container image with symlinks pointing to arbitrary paths. Attackers can exploit unsanitized tar member path extraction during container import via /container/add to achieve root-privileged file creation, directory creation, file deletion via overlayfs whiteout, and hardlink creation on the persistent data partition without ever starting the container. The 7.23.x long-term branch does not contain this fix; the container binaries in container-7.23.3.npk and container-7.23.4.npk are byte-identical. The vendor has confirmed that the issue is not resolved in the long-term release and that the fix is carried forward only in the stable branch from 7.24.2 onward, with no backport to the long-term branch planned. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 6.9 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS: 0.003810000 probability, percentile 0.293720000 (date 2026-09-25)
Problem Types: CWE-22 | CWE-59 | CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') | CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:L/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:L |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 6.9 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.vulncheck.com/advisories/mikrotik-routeros-path-traversal-via-container-oci... | [email protected] | www.vulncheck.com | |
| forum.mikrotik.com/t/7-24-2-stable-is-released/272800 | [email protected] | forum.mikrotik.com | |
| mikrotik.com/supportsec/september-2026-vulnerability | MITRE | mikrotik.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: Kazuma Matsumoto, a security researcher at GMO Cybersecurity by IERAE, Inc. (en)