VulnerabilityPublished 27 Mar 2025Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2024-12905: tar-fs Vulnerable to Link Following and Path Traversal via Extracting a Crafted tar File

Affects tar-fsSource GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2024-12905· High 7.5

Public exploit available (Exploit-DB) · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 1.16.4 as a priority.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 02:29 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CNA (seal)	CVSS 3.1	7.5

Patch: Available – fixed in 1.16.4, 2.1.2, 3.0.7

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 Mar 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
1 Exploit-DB entry, 26 days after disclosure
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by Seal Security
23 Dec 202413:53 UTC, 94 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
27 Mar 202516:25 UTC, t = 0
First Exploit-DB entry (opens in a new tab)
tar-fs 3.0.0 - Arbitrary File Write/Overwrite
22 Apr 2025, 26 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade tar-fs to 1.16.4; tar-fs to 2.1.2; tar-fs to 3.0.7.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
npmtar-fs	Affected <1.16.4	Fixed in 1.16.4
npmtar-fs	Affected >=2.0.0 <2.1.2	Fixed in 2.1.2
npmtar-fs	Affected >=3.0.0 <3.0.7	Fixed in 3.0.7

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Fixed versions 1.16.4, 2.1.2, and 3.0.7 of tar-fs have been released and should be applied to remediate this vulnerability. Users should upgrade to these versions or later to prevent exploitation. No additional mitigations are specified by the vendor advisory.

Description

The tar-fs package contains a vulnerability (CVE-2024-12905) involving improper link resolution and path traversal during extraction of crafted tar files. This flaw allows an attacker to write or overwrite files outside the intended extraction directory, potentially leading to unauthorized file modifications. The issue affects multiple versions of tar-fs prior to fixed releases 1.16.4, 2.1.2, and 3.0.7.

Impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to write or overwrite arbitrary files outside the intended extraction directory, which can lead to unauthorized modification of system or application files. This can compromise the integrity of the affected system or application. The vulnerability does not directly impact confidentiality or availability but has a high impact on integrity.

Summary

CVE-2024-12905 is a vulnerability in the tar-fs package's index.js component that arises from improper link resolution before file access and insufficient restriction of pathnames during tar file extraction. When a maliciously crafted tar archive is extracted, the flaw permits unauthorized writes or overwrites outside the target directory, enabling potential file system manipulation. The vulnerability affects tar-fs versions before 1.16.4, versions from 2.0.0 up to but not including 2.1.2, and versions from 3.0.0 up to but not including 3.0.7. Public exploit code is available, and the CVSS 3.1 score is 7.5 (high severity) with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, and no user interaction needed. Fixed versions have been released.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (Path Traversal) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

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What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 30 Oct 2026, 02:29 UTC

Public exploits and detection1 Exploit-DB entry, GitHub proofs of concept

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

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