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CVE-2026-90954

Busybox: busybox: dpkg-deb extraction-root escape via per-ar-member deferred symlink flush

7.8 High

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
Required

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

0.24%Unchanged since Oct 14, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 7.8

Busybox: busybox: dpkg-deb extraction-root escape via per-ar-member deferred symlink flush

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Record
CVE-2026-90954
CVSS 3.1
7.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-59
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-100951 7.8

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Record
EUVD-2026-100951
CVSS 3.1
7.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-68qr-37mv-cwhv 7.8

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes...

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Record
GHSA-68qr-37mv-cwhv
CVSS 3.1
7.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-59
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 7.8

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Record
CVE-2026-90954
CVSS 3.1
7.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-59
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVBELL-CVE-2026-90954 7.8

CVE-2026-90954 does not affect BellSoft software

Record
BELL-CVE-2026-90954
CVSS 3.1
7.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-90954 7.8

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90954
CVSS 3.1
7.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-90954 7.8

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90954
CVSS 3.1
7.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVAZL-109776 No score

CVE-2026-90954 affecting package busybox 1.36.1-28

A flaw was found in BusyBox's dpkg-deb archive extraction. The ar archive handler flushes deferred symlinks after each archive member, unlike the tar, cpio, and unzip handlers which flush once after the last member. A specially crafted .deb archive with two data.tar members can exploit this ordering: the first member declares a symlink pointing to an absolute path (e.g., '/'), which is deferred as unsafe but flushed after the first member. The second member declares a regular file whose path traverses the now-live symlink, resulting in a file being written outside the intended extraction directory. This could allow an attacker to write arbitrary files to arbitrary locations when a user extracts a crafted .deb package.

Record
AZL-109776
Updated
2026-11-05
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2026:12376-1 No score

busybox-1.38.0-4.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the busybox-1.38.0-4.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2026:12376-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
busybox
Azure Linux:3
through 1.36.1-28 None known
busybox
Debian:12
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.35.0-41:1.35.0-4+deb12u11:1.36.0-1~exp11:1.36.1-11:1.36.1-2
Show 23 moreShow less
1:1.36.1-31:1.36.1-3.11:1.36.1-41:1.36.1-51:1.36.1-61:1.36.1-6~exp.11:1.36.1-71:1.36.1-81:1.36.1-91:1.37.0-11:1.37.0-101:1.37.0-10.11:1.37.0-21:1.37.0-31:1.37.0-41:1.37.0-51:1.37.0-61:1.37.0-71:1.37.0-81:1.37.0-91:1.38.0-11:1.38.0-21:1.38.0-3
None known
busybox
Debian:13
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-101:1.37.0-10.11:1.37.0-61:1.37.0-71:1.37.0-8
Show 4 moreShow less
1:1.37.0-91:1.38.0-11:1.38.0-21:1.38.0-3
None known
busybox
Debian:14
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-101:1.37.0-10.11:1.37.0-61:1.37.0-71:1.37.0-8
Show 4 moreShow less
1:1.37.0-91:1.38.0-11:1.38.0-21:1.38.0-3
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.20.0-8.1ubuntu11:1.20.0-9ubuntu11:1.20.0-9ubuntu21:1.21.0-1ubuntu11:1.21.0-1ubuntu1.41:1.21.0-1ubuntu1.4+esm1
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.22.0-15ubuntu11:1.22.0-15ubuntu1.41:1.22.0-15ubuntu1.4+esm11:1.22.0-15ubuntu1.4+esm2
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.22.0-19ubuntu21:1.27.2-1ubuntu31:1.27.2-1ubuntu41:1.27.2-2ubuntu21:1.27.2-2ubuntu3
Show 5 moreShow less
1:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.11:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.21:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.31:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.41:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.4+esm1
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.30.1-4ubuntu41:1.30.1-4ubuntu51:1.30.1-4ubuntu61:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.11:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.21:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.31:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.41:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.5
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.30.1-6ubuntu31:1.30.1-7ubuntu11:1.30.1-7ubuntu21:1.30.1-7ubuntu31:1.30.1-7ubuntu3.1
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.36.1-3ubuntu11:1.36.1-6ubuntu11:1.36.1-6ubuntu31:1.36.1-6ubuntu3.1
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:26.10
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-7ubuntu11:1.37.0-10.1ubuntu21:1.37.0-10.1ubuntu31:1.38.0-3ubuntu11:1.38.0-3ubuntu31:1.38.0-3ubuntu4
None known
busybox
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1:1.37.0-4ubuntu11:1.37.0-7ubuntu1
None known
busybox
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 1.38.0-4.1
1.38.0-4.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, facts
factsOSV
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-90954 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Red Hat Hardened Images, published October 14, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.24%, the 14th percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

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