CVE-2026-26158
Busybox: busybox: arbitrary file modification and privilege escalation via unvalidated tar archive entries
Description
A flaw was found in BusyBox. This vulnerability allows an attacker to modify files outside of the intended extraction directory by crafting a malicious tar archive containing unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries. If the tar archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation, enabling an attacker to gain unauthorized access to critical system files.
INFO
Published Date :
Feb. 11, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
Feb. 11, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-26158
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 53f830b8-0a3f-465b-8143-3b8a9948e749 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update BusyBox to a patched version.
- Validate tar archive contents before extraction.
- Restrict privileges during archive extraction.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github
CVE-2026-26158 has a 1 public
PoC/Exploit available at Github.
Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-26158.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-26158 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-26158
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Personal security research and CVE discoveries
Python
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-26158 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-26158 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Feb. 11, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description A flaw was found in BusyBox. This vulnerability allows an attacker to modify files outside of the intended extraction directory by crafting a malicious tar archive containing unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries. If the tar archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation, enabling an attacker to gain unauthorized access to critical system files. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-73 Added Reference https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-26158 Added Reference https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2439040 Added Reference https://git.busybox.net/busybox/commit/archival?id=3fb6b31c716669e12f75a2accd31bb7685b1a1cb