#VU50978 Memory leak in Tar - CVE-2021-20193

Vulnerability identifier: #VU50978

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-20193

CWE-ID: CWE-401

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Tar
Client/Desktop applications / Software for archiving

Vendor: GNU

Description
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform DoS attack on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due memory leak within the read_header() function in list.c. A remote attacker can pass specially crafted archive to the application and force it to leak memory, which eventually results in a denial of service condition.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Tar: 1.0 - 1.33

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External links
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1917565
https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?59897
https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/tar.git/commit/?id=d9d4435692150fa8ff68e1b1a473d187cc3fd777

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.