vulnerability / NVI-00016088 / Revision 1
node-tar: Process crash via PAX numeric path type confusion
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for tar. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
5.3 medium
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
tar
source listed<= 7.5.17
### Summary A crafted 2.5KB tar archive crashes any Node.js process that extracts it. The PAX header parser coerces all-digit path values to JavaScript numbers, which causes an uncaught TypeError when downstream code calls `.split('/')` on the numeric value. Error handlers and `strict: false` cannot intercept the crash. ### Details In `pax.ts` line 180, `parseKV` converts PAX values matching `/^[0-9]+$/` to numbers via `+v`. This applies to all fields including `path` and `linkpath`. When a PAX header sets `path` to an all-digit string like `"12345"`, the value becomes the number `12345`. This number flows through Header -> ReadEntry -> Unpack.CHECKPATH, where `normalizeWindowsPath(entry.path).split('/')` throws a TypeError because numbers don't have `.split()`. The throw is synchronous during event emission and bypasses all error handling: - `strict: false` does not help - `'error'` event handlers do not catch it - `'warn'` handlers do not catch it - The TypeError propagates through the event emitter stack as an uncaughtException Directory, SymbolicLink, and Link type entries reach CHECKPATH and crash. File type entries crash earlier in Header constructor at `this.path.slice
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
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- GHSA-w8wr-v893-vjvp ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
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Public revision history
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- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.