GHSA-R292-9MHP-454M

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-24 16:26 – Updated: 2026-08-21 19:08
VLAI
Summary
node-tar: Uncontrolled recursion in mapHas/filesFilter allows uncatchable stack-overflow DoS via crafted long-path tar with member selection
Details

Summary

node-tar (npm tar) contains an uncontrolled-recursion stack-exhaustion DoS in the internal mapHas helper used by filesFilter. When a consumer calls tar.t(...) or tar.x(...) with a non-empty member-selection list, node-tar installs a filter that closes over the recursive mapHas (src/list.ts:33-44). mapHas walks an entry path upward one path.dirname() call per recursion with no segment cap. A single crafted tar with a GNU-L (or PAX-x) long-path header can deliver a path of tens of thousands of /-separated segments (up to maxMetaEntrySize = 1 MiB). The recursion overflows the call stack, throwing an uncatchable RangeError that terminates the Node process on async/streaming consumers.

Root Cause

filesFilter (src/list.ts:27-51) is installed whenever a caller passes a member-selection list (src/list.ts:119-122, src/extract.ts:55-57). Its filter is invoked at src/parse.ts:253 (entry.ignore = entry.ignore || !this.filter(entry.path, entry)) inside Parser[CONSUMEHEADER] — and crucially outside the only try/catch in that method (which wraps new Header at src/parse.ts:179-183). mapHas recurses once per path segment with no depth limit. The Unpack maxDepth guard (src/unpack.ts:342, in [CHECKPATH]) only runs on the 'entry' event, which fires after CONSUMEHEADER has already invoked the filter — so the stack overflows before any depth guard executes. tar.t (list) has no maxDepth at all.

Impact

Unauthenticated, remotely-triggerable denial of service: a ~188-byte gzip (≈26 KB tar) crashes any service that lists or extracts selected members from an untrusted archive (package registries, CI artifact/cache restore, upload processors). On async (await tar.t(...)/tar.x(...)) and streaming/pipe consumers the RangeError escapes the promise as an uncaughtException and terminates the process — standard defensive try/catch around the async call does NOT prevent it. (The synchronous API is catchable; the async/stream paths — the dominant server pattern — are not.)

Proof of Concept

// Build a tar whose single entry has a GNU-L long path of ~12,000 "a/" segments (~26 KB),
// gzip it (≈188 bytes), then have a consumer list/extract with member selection:
const tar = require('tar');
await tar.t({ file: 'evil.tar.gz', gzip: true }, ['some-member']); // -> RangeError, process exit

Empirically reproduced on Node v24.18.0 against built dist/commonjs of node-tar 7.5.20: 188-byte gzip → 26,112-byte tar (12,000 segments) → uncaught RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded → process exit. A control run with no member-selection list (filter not installed) parses cleanly (exit 0), isolating mapHas as the sole cause.

Attack Chain

  1. Entry. Attacker crafts a tar with a GNU L (or PAX x) long-path header whose body is "a/"×~12000 (~26 KB), followed by a normal file entry.
  2. Guard: maxMetaEntrySize caps the meta body at 1 MiB (src/parse.ts:241).
  3. Bypass proof: 26 KB ≪ 1 MiB → accepted (verified: 26 KB archive parsed up to the filter).
  4. Trigger. Victim service calls tar.t({file},[sel]) or tar.x({file,cwd},[sel]) (member selection — a documented, common API).
  5. Guard: Unpack.maxDepth (default 1024) at src/unpack.ts:342; decompression-ratio guard.
  6. Bypass proof: maxDepth lives in [CHECKPATH] on the 'entry' event, which fires after CONSUMEHEADER's filter call — the crash occurs before it (extract exits 1 with default maxDepth). tar.t has no maxDepth. Ratio is ~139× (trivial); no total-bytes cap applies to the uncompressed meta body.
  7. Sink. this.filter(entry.path) → mapHas recurses once per / segment (src/list.ts:39).
  8. Guard: try/catch in CONSUMEHEADER.
  9. Bypass proof: the only try/catch wraps new Header (src/parse.ts:179-183); the this.filter(...) call at src/parse.ts:253 is outside it. The RangeError propagates out of the stream write/'data' path → uncaught exception (verified: process.on('uncaughtException') fires; async await+try/catch does NOT intercept).
  10. Impact. Node process termination; a 188-byte gzip crashes any consumer that lists/extracts selected members from untrusted archives.

Bypass Evidence

  • mapHas recursion is member-name-independent: the crash fires even when the requested members do not match the malicious entry path — the attacker only needs the consumer to use member selection.
  • Standalone mapHas overflows at 20k–30k segments; on the real streaming path (atop write → CONSUMECHUNK → CONSUMEHEADER → filter) it crashes at ≤8k segments (finder's ~12k estimate is accurate for the reachable path).
  • Control (no member list → no filter) parses cleanly (exit 0), isolating mapHas.

Affected Versions

<= 7.5.20 (npm tar). mapHas present verbatim on tag v7.5.20 (latest GitHub release and npm dist-tag latest); no segment/depth cap in src/list.ts or the CONSUMEHEADER filter path; HEAD == 7.5.20, no unreleased fix.

Suggested Fix

Rewrite mapHas iteratively (walk dirname in a while loop with a segment/visited cap), or enforce a hard path-segment limit in Header/Parser independent of maxMetaEntrySize, applied before any per-entry filter runs.

Dedup Note

Distinct from CVE-2024-28863 / GHSA-f5x3-32g6-qm9j "lack of folders depth validation" (that bounds mkdir recursion during extraction via maxDepth in Unpack[CHECKPATH] on the 'entry' event — a different sink, code path, and fix; runs after the filter and does not apply to tar.t). Also distinct from the PAX NUL/numeric-path crash advisories (improper-input-to-fs / type confusion, not recursion) and the gzip-bomb advisory (resource exhaustion on disk writes). None touch list.ts/filesFilter/mapHas or require member selection.

Reported by zx (Jace) — GitHub: @manus-use

Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 7.5.20"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "tar"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "7.5.21"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-73566"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-400",
      "CWE-674"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-07-24T16:26:16Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-08-13T18:18:19Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "## Summary\n`node-tar` (npm `tar`) contains an uncontrolled-recursion stack-exhaustion DoS in the internal `mapHas` helper used by `filesFilter`. When a consumer calls `tar.t(...)` or `tar.x(...)` with a non-empty member-selection list, node-tar installs a filter that closes over the recursive `mapHas` (`src/list.ts:33-44`). `mapHas` walks an entry path upward one `path.dirname()` call per recursion **with no segment cap**. A single crafted tar with a GNU-`L` (or PAX-`x`) long-path header can deliver a path of tens of thousands of `/`-separated segments (up to `maxMetaEntrySize` = 1 MiB). The recursion overflows the call stack, throwing an uncatchable `RangeError` that terminates the Node process on async/streaming consumers.\n\n## Root Cause\n`filesFilter` (`src/list.ts:27-51`) is installed whenever a caller passes a member-selection list (`src/list.ts:119-122`, `src/extract.ts:55-57`). Its filter is invoked at `src/parse.ts:253` (`entry.ignore = entry.ignore || !this.filter(entry.path, entry)`) inside `Parser[CONSUMEHEADER]` \u2014 and crucially **outside** the only try/catch in that method (which wraps `new Header` at `src/parse.ts:179-183`). `mapHas` recurses once per path segment with no depth limit. The `Unpack` `maxDepth` guard (`src/unpack.ts:342`, in `[CHECKPATH]`) only runs on the `\u0027entry\u0027` event, which fires *after* `CONSUMEHEADER` has already invoked the filter \u2014 so the stack overflows before any depth guard executes. `tar.t` (list) has no `maxDepth` at all.\n\n## Impact\nUnauthenticated, remotely-triggerable denial of service: a ~188-byte gzip (\u224826 KB tar) crashes any service that lists or extracts *selected members* from an untrusted archive (package registries, CI artifact/cache restore, upload processors). On async (`await tar.t(...)`/`tar.x(...)`) and streaming/`pipe` consumers the `RangeError` escapes the promise as an `uncaughtException` and terminates the process \u2014 standard defensive `try/catch` around the async call does NOT prevent it. (The synchronous API is catchable; the async/stream paths \u2014 the dominant server pattern \u2014 are not.)\n\n## Proof of Concept\n```js\n// Build a tar whose single entry has a GNU-L long path of ~12,000 \"a/\" segments (~26 KB),\n// gzip it (\u2248188 bytes), then have a consumer list/extract with member selection:\nconst tar = require(\u0027tar\u0027);\nawait tar.t({ file: \u0027evil.tar.gz\u0027, gzip: true }, [\u0027some-member\u0027]); // -\u003e RangeError, process exit\n```\nEmpirically reproduced on Node v24.18.0 against built `dist/commonjs` of node-tar 7.5.20: 188-byte gzip \u2192 26,112-byte tar (12,000 segments) \u2192 uncaught `RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded` \u2192 process exit. A control run with no member-selection list (filter not installed) parses cleanly (exit 0), isolating `mapHas` as the sole cause.\n\n## Attack Chain\n1. **Entry.** Attacker crafts a tar with a GNU `L` (or PAX `x`) long-path header whose body is `\"a/\"`\u00d7~12000 (~26 KB), followed by a normal file entry.\n   - **Guard:** `maxMetaEntrySize` caps the meta body at 1 MiB (`src/parse.ts:241`).\n   - **Bypass proof:** 26 KB \u226a 1 MiB \u2192 accepted (verified: 26 KB archive parsed up to the filter).\n2. **Trigger.** Victim service calls `tar.t({file},[sel])` or `tar.x({file,cwd},[sel])` (member selection \u2014 a documented, common API).\n   - **Guard:** `Unpack.maxDepth` (default 1024) at `src/unpack.ts:342`; decompression-ratio guard.\n   - **Bypass proof:** `maxDepth` lives in `[CHECKPATH]` on the `\u0027entry\u0027` event, which fires *after* `CONSUMEHEADER`\u0027s filter call \u2014 the crash occurs before it (extract exits 1 with default maxDepth). `tar.t` has no maxDepth. Ratio is ~139\u00d7 (trivial); no total-bytes cap applies to the uncompressed meta body.\n3. **Sink.** `this.filter(entry.path)` \u2192 `mapHas` recurses once per `/` segment (`src/list.ts:39`).\n   - **Guard:** try/catch in `CONSUMEHEADER`.\n   - **Bypass proof:** the only try/catch wraps `new Header` (`src/parse.ts:179-183`); the `this.filter(...)` call at `src/parse.ts:253` is outside it. The `RangeError` propagates out of the stream write/`\u0027data\u0027` path \u2192 uncaught exception (verified: `process.on(\u0027uncaughtException\u0027)` fires; async `await`+`try/catch` does NOT intercept).\n4. **Impact.** Node process termination; a 188-byte gzip crashes any consumer that lists/extracts selected members from untrusted archives.\n\n## Bypass Evidence\n- `mapHas` recursion is member-name-independent: the crash fires even when the requested members do not match the malicious entry path \u2014 the attacker only needs the consumer to *use* member selection.\n- Standalone `mapHas` overflows at 20k\u201330k segments; on the real streaming path (atop `write \u2192 CONSUMECHUNK \u2192 CONSUMEHEADER \u2192 filter`) it crashes at \u22648k segments (finder\u0027s ~12k estimate is accurate for the reachable path).\n- Control (no member list \u2192 no filter) parses cleanly (exit 0), isolating `mapHas`.\n\n## Affected Versions\n`\u003c= 7.5.20` (npm `tar`). `mapHas` present verbatim on tag `v7.5.20` (latest GitHub release and npm `dist-tag latest`); no segment/depth cap in `src/list.ts` or the `CONSUMEHEADER` filter path; HEAD == 7.5.20, no unreleased fix.\n\n## Suggested Fix\nRewrite `mapHas` iteratively (walk `dirname` in a `while` loop with a segment/visited cap), or enforce a hard path-segment limit in `Header`/`Parser` independent of `maxMetaEntrySize`, applied before any per-entry filter runs.\n\n## Dedup Note\nDistinct from CVE-2024-28863 / GHSA-f5x3-32g6-qm9j \"lack of folders depth validation\" (that bounds `mkdir` recursion during *extraction* via `maxDepth` in `Unpack[CHECKPATH]` on the `\u0027entry\u0027` event \u2014 a different sink, code path, and fix; runs after the filter and does not apply to `tar.t`). Also distinct from the PAX NUL/numeric-path crash advisories (improper-input-to-fs / type confusion, not recursion) and the gzip-bomb advisory (resource exhaustion on disk writes). None touch `list.ts`/`filesFilter`/`mapHas` or require member selection.\n\n---\nReported by **zx (Jace)** \u2014 GitHub: @manus-use",
  "id": "GHSA-r292-9mhp-454m",
  "modified": "2026-08-21T19:08:22Z",
  "published": "2026-07-24T16:26:16Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-r292-9mhp-454m"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-73566"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/commit/631ae59121bf8fc8a22bbae35f074cb9b789cd4a"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/isaacs/node-tar/releases/tag/v7.5.21"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "node-tar: Uncontrolled recursion in mapHas/filesFilter allows uncatchable stack-overflow DoS via crafted long-path tar with member selection"
}



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