GNU Tar: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code — GLSA 201111-11

A buffer overflow flaw in GNU Tar could result in execution of arbitrary code or a Denial of Service.

Affected packages

Package	app-arch/tar on all architectures
Affected versions	< 1.23
Unaffected versions	>= 1.23

Background

GNU Tar is a utility to create archives as well as add and extract files from archives.

Description

GNU Tar is vulnerable to a boundary error in the rmt_read__ function in lib/rtapelib.c, which could cause a heap-based buffer overflow.

Impact

A remote attacker could entice the user to load a specially crafted archive, possibly resulting in the execution of arbitrary code or a Denial of Service.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All GNU Tar users should upgrade to the latest version:

 # emerge --sync
 # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=app-arch/tar-1.23"

NOTE: This is a legacy GLSA. Updates for all affected architectures are available since July 18, 2010. It is likely that your system is already no longer affected by this issue.

References

CVE-2010-0624

Release date
November 20, 2011

Latest revision
November 20, 2011: 1

Severity
normal

Exploitable
remote

Bugzilla entries

313333