How severe is CVE-2026-23745?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2026-23745 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-23745?

CVE-2026-23745 affects the following packages: tar (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23745?

Update tar to 7.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-23745 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-23745 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for tar, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-23745 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-23745?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-23745 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is CVE-2026-23745 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2026-23745, including . All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-23745?

CVE-2026-23745 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.4%, placing it in the 32th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-23745?

CVE-2026-23745 is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2026-23745 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-23745 was published on January 16, 2026 and was last updated on September 9, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2026-23745 — tar

Fix: isaacs/node-tar@340eb28

CVE-2026-23745 is a Path Traversal vulnerability in tar. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for tar — see the affected versions and patch details below.

node-tar Vulnerable to Arbitrary File Overwrite and Symlink Poisoning via Insufficient Path Sanitization

Also known asGHSA-8qq5-rm4j-mr97

Published

Jan 16, 2026

Updated

Sep 9, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Sep 19, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-23745.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs32th percentile — riskier than 32% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

8Kother npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

tarnpm

62.9Mdownloads / week

Description

node-tar is a Tar for Node.js. The node-tar library (<= 7.5.2) fails to sanitize the linkpath of Link (hardlink) and SymbolicLink entries when preservePaths is false (the default secure behavior). This allows malicious archives to bypass the extraction root restriction, leading to Arbitrary File Overwrite via hardlinks and Symlink Poisoning via absolute symlink targets. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.3.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`tar`	all versions	7.5.3`npm install tar@7.5.3`

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Jvr2022/CVE-2026-23745

Proof of Concept for CVE-2026-23745: Arbitrary File Overwrite vulnerabil

⭐ 23🍴 3Sep 2026

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for tar, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update tar to 7.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-23745 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-23745 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2026-23745. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatImportant

This vulnerability is rated Important for Red Hat products that utilize the node-tar library. The flaw allows an attacker to perform arbitrary file overwrite and symlink poisoning by crafting malicious tar archives. This occurs due to insufficient path sanitization of hardlink and symbolic link entries, even when the…

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10	`linux-sgx-0:2.26-7.el10`	RHSA-2026:18480
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9	`linux-sgx-0:2.26-7.el9`	RHSA-2026:18868
Network Observability (NETOBSERV) 1.11.0	`network-observability/network-observability-console-plugin-rhel9:1771227650`	RHSA-2026:2900
Red Hat Migration Toolkit 1.8	`rhmtc/openshift-migration-ui-rhel8:1783690532`	RHSA-2026:41928
Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25	`rhoai/odh-dashboard-rhel9:1772093424`	RHSA-2026:3782
Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.3	`rhoai/odh-dashboard-rhel9:1779189627`	RHSA-2026:19712
Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces 3.27	`devspaces/udi-rhel9:1774451954`	RHSA-2026:6192
Red Hat Trusted Artifact Signer 1.2	`rhtas/rekor-search-ui-rhel9:1770739056`	RHSA-2026:2926

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-23745 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2026-23745 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works