Vulnerability in GNU Tar (CVE-2018-20482)
Summary
Vulnerability in GNU Tar (CVE-2018-20482). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
GNU Tar through 1.30, when --sparse is used, mishandles file shrinkage during read access, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (infinite read loop in sparse_dump_region in sparse.c) by modifying a file that is supposed to be archived by a different user's process (e.g., a system backup running as root).
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2018-20482 has been found in GNU Tar.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. CVSS score: 4.7/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "GNU Tar CVE-2018-20482" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2018-20482 (GNU Tar) — CWE-835 / CVSS v3 4.7
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-835) exists in GNU Tar.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of GNU Tar.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 4.7/10). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
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1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで GNU Tar を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
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2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Alpine Linux ALPINE-CVE-2018-20482 tar Fixed in: 1.31-r0
References
- web git.savannah.gnu.org
- web lists.gnu.org
- web lists.opensuse.org
- web securityfocus.com
- web lists.debian.org
- web lists.debian.org
- web news.ycombinator.com
- web security.gentoo.org
- web twitter.com
- web utcc.utoronto.ca
- web cert-portal.siemens.com
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web github.com