CVE-2026-55738
Stack Buffer Overflow in rxi/microtar raw_to_header() via non-null-terminated TAR name field
Description
A stack-based buffer overflow exists in the raw_to_header() function in src/microtar.c in rxi microtar 0.1.0. The function copies the 100-byte name and linkname fields of a TAR header with strcpy() without guaranteeing null termination of the source. The POSIX ustar format permits these fixed-width fields to be fully populated with non-null bytes, so a crafted archive whose linkname field (followed by the trailing padding of the 512-byte raw header) contains no null terminator causes strcpy() to read past the end of the 512-byte raw header stack buffer and to write past the destination header buffer. A remote attacker who supplies a crafted TAR archive that the victim opens or parses (via mtar_open(), mtar_read_header(), or mtar_find()) can cause an out-of-bounds read and a stack buffer overflow, resulting in denial of service (crash) and potentially arbitrary code execution. Confirmed with AddressSanitizer: stack-buffer-overflow READ of size 356 in raw_to_header at src/microtar.c:112.
INFO
Published Date :
June 17, 2026, 1:45 p.m.
Last Modified :
June 17, 2026, 1:45 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
TuranSec
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-55738
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 | 309f9ea4-e3e9-4c6c-b79d-e8eb01244f2c | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 309f9ea4-e3e9-4c6c-b79d-e8eb01244f2c |
Solution
- Update to a fixed version of the microtar library.
- Avoid processing untrusted tar archives.
- Sanitize input archives before processing.
- Implement bounds checking for string operations.
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CVE-2026-55738 vulnerability anywhere in the article.