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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2018-20834

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2019-04-30
  • Fixed in4.4.2 · 2.2.2
  • WeaknessCWE-59

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

A vulnerability was found in node-tar before version 4.4.2 (excluding version 2.2.2). An Arbitrary File Overwrite issue exists when extracting a tarball containing a hardlink to a file that already exists on the system, in conjunction with a later plain file with the same name as the hardlink. This plain file content replaces the existing file content. A patch has been applied to node-tar v2.2.2).

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2019-04-3019:29CVE publishedNVD

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Isaacs tar
BranchAffectedFixed in
4.4≥ 3.0.0, < 4.4.24.4.2
2.2< 2.2.22.2.2

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • node-tarDebian:14all versions · fixed in 4.4.4+ds1-2
  • node-tarDebian:13all versions · fixed in 4.4.4+ds1-2
  • node-tarDebian:12all versions · fixed in 4.4.4+ds1-2
  • rh-nodejs8-nodejsRed Hat:rhel_software_collections:3::el7all versions · fixed in 0:8.16.0-1.el7and 3 other packages
  • rh-nodejs8-npmRed Hat:rhel_software_collections:3::el7all versions · fixed in 0:6.4.1-8.16.0.1.el7
  • tarTuxCare:npmfrom 1.0.3-tuxcare.0 · fixed in 1.0.3-tuxcare.1
  • tarTuxCare:npmfrom 2.1.1-tuxcare.0 · fixed in 2.1.1-tuxcare.1

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2018-20834 Red Hat Product Security66 products fixed

    nodejs-tar: Arbitrary file overwrites when extracting tarballs containing a hard-link

  • RHSA-2019:1821 Red Hat Product Security66 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: rh-nodejs8-nodejs security update

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Isaacs tar to 4.4.2 · 2.2.2
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2019:1821 · 76 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Published
2019-04-30
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-j44m-qm6p-hp7m

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-20834?

A vulnerability was found in node-tar before version 4.4.2 (excluding version 2.2.2). An Arbitrary File Overwrite issue exists when extracting a tarball containing a hardlink to a file that already exists on the system, in conjunction with a later plain file with the same name as the hardlink. This plain file content replaces the existing file content. A patch has been applied to node-tar v2.2.2).

Is CVE-2018-20834 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2018-20834 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 3.1% on 2026-11-08, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2018-20834?

CVE-2018-20834 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

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