CVE-2026-42496
Tar extraction path traversal in Archive::Tar <3.08
Is CVE-2026-42496 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-42496 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.43% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-42496?
CVE-2026-42496 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.1. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-42496?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-42496. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-42496 affect?
CVE-2026-42496 affects Archive::Tar <3.08 (Perl module). Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-42496?
Upgrade Archive::Tar to >=3.08
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Symlink target outside extraction dir; attacker-chosen path can be read or written via the extracted file.
Patch when possible
- affected< 3.08
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.