node-tar: Uncontrolled recursion in mapHas/filesFilter allows uncatchable stack-overflow DoS via crafted long-path tar with member selection

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node-tar is a tar archive manipulation library for Node.js. Prior to 7.5.21, node-tar's filesFilter in src/list.ts uses the recursive mapHas helper to walk an archive entry path upward with path.dirname() and no segment cap when tar.t(...) or tar.x(...) receives a non-empty member-selection list. A crafted GNU L or PAX x long-path header with thousands of slash-separated segments reaches this.filter(entry.path, entry) in Parser[CONSUMEHEADER] in src/parse.ts before Unpack[CHECKPATH] applies maxDepth, causing an uncatchable RangeError stack overflow that terminates asynchronous and streaming Node.js consumers. This issue is fixed in version 7.5.21.

Source published

13 Aug 2026 17:39:05 UTC

Source modified

21 Aug 2026 19:08:31 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

node-tar is a tar archive manipulation library for Node.js. Prior to 7.5.21, node-tar's filesFilter in src/list.ts uses the recursive mapHas helper to walk an archive entry path upward with path.dirname() and no segment cap when tar.t(...) or tar.x(...) receives a non-empty member-selection list. A crafted GNU L or PAX x long-path header with thousands of slash-separated segments reaches this.filter(entry.path, entry) in Parser[CONSUMEHEADER] in src/parse.ts before Unpack[CHECKPATH] applies maxDepth, causing an uncatchable RangeError stack overflow that terminates asynchronous and streaming Node.js consumers. This issue is fixed in version 7.5.21.

Source published

13 Aug 2026 18:18:19 UTC

Source modified

24 Oct 2026 15:10:00 UTC

Observed here

25 Oct 2026 15:19:09 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Secondary · 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

## Summary `node-tar` (npm `tar`) contains an uncontrolled-recursion stack-exhaustion DoS in the internal `mapHas` helper used by `filesFilter`. When a consumer calls `tar.t(...)` or `tar.x(...)` with a non-empty member-selection list, node-tar installs a filter that closes over the recursive `mapHas` (`src/list.ts:33-44`). `mapHas` walks an entry path upward one `path.dirname()` call per recursion **with no segment cap**. A single crafted tar with a GNU-`L` (or PAX-`x`) long-path header can deliver a path of tens of thousands of `/`-separated segments (up to `maxMetaEntrySize` = 1 MiB). The recursion overflows the call stack, throwing an uncatchable `RangeError` that terminates the Node process on async/streaming consumers. ## Root Cause `filesFilter` (`src/list.ts:27-51`) is installed whenever a caller passes a member-selection list (`src/list.ts:119-122`, `src/extract.ts:55-57`). Its filter is invoked at `src/parse.ts:253` (`entry.ignore = entry.ignore || !this.filter(entry.path, entry)`) inside `Parser[CONSUMEHEADER]` — and crucially **outside** the only try/catch in that method (which wraps `new Header` at `src/parse.ts:179-183`). `mapHas` recurses once per path segment with no depth limit. The `Unpack` `maxDepth` guard (`src/unpack.ts:342`, in `[CHECKPATH]`) only runs on the `'entry'` event, which fires *after* `CONSUMEHEADER` has already invoked the filter — so the stack overflows before any depth guard executes. `tar.t` (list) has no `maxDepth` at all. ## Impact Unauthenticated, remotely-triggerable denial of service: a ~188-byte gzip (≈26 KB tar) crashes any service that lists or extracts *selected members* from an untrusted archive (package registries, CI artifact/cache restore, upload processors). On async (`await tar.t(...)`/`tar.x(...)`) and streaming/`pipe` consumers the `RangeError` escapes the promise as an `uncaughtException` and terminates the process — standard defensive `try/catch` around the async call does NOT prevent it. (The synchronous API is catchable; the async/stream paths — the dominant server pattern — are not.) ## Proof of Concept ```js // Build a tar whose single entry has a GNU-L long path of ~12,000 "a/" segments (~26 KB), // gzip it (≈188 bytes), then have a consumer list/extract with member selection: const tar = require('tar'); await tar.t({ file: 'evil.tar.gz', gzip: true }, ['some-member']); // -> RangeError, process exit ``` Empirically reproduced on Node v24.18.0 against built `dist/commonjs` of node-tar 7.5.20: 188-byte gzip → 26,112-byte tar (12,000 segments) → uncaught `RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded` → process exit. A control run with no member-selection list (filter not installed) parses cleanly (exit 0), isolating `mapHas` as the sole cause. ## Attack Chain 1. **Entry.** Attacker crafts a tar with a GNU `L` (or PAX `x`) long-path header whose body is `"a/"`×~12000 (~26 KB), followed by a normal file entry. - **Guard:** `maxMetaEntrySize` caps the meta body at 1 MiB (`src/parse.ts:241`). - **Bypass proof:** 26 KB ≪ 1 MiB → accepted (verified: 26 KB archive parsed up to the filter). 2. **Trigger.** Victim service calls `tar.t({file},[sel])` or `tar.x({file,cwd},[sel])` (member selection — a documented, common API). - **Guard:** `Unpack.maxDepth` (default 1024) at `src/unpack.ts:342`; decompression-ratio guard. - **Bypass proof:** `maxDepth` lives in `[CHECKPATH]` on the `'entry'` event, which fires *after* `CONSUMEHEADER`'s filter call — the crash occurs before it (extract exits 1 with default maxDepth). `tar.t` has no maxDepth. Ratio is ~139× (trivial); no total-bytes cap applies to the uncompressed meta body. 3. **Sink.** `this.filter(entry.path)` → `mapHas` recurses once per `/` segment (`src/list.ts:39`). - **Guard:** try/catch in `CONSUMEHEADER`. - **Bypass proof:** the only try/catch wraps `new Header` (`src/parse.ts:179-183`); the `this.filter(...)` call at `src/parse.ts:253` is outside it. The `RangeError` propagates out of the stream write/`'data'` path → uncaught exception (verified: `process.on('uncaughtException')` fires; async `await`+`try/catch` does NOT intercept). 4. **Impact.** Node process termination; a 188-byte gzip crashes any consumer that lists/extracts selected members from untrusted archives. ## Bypass Evidence - `mapHas` recursion is member-name-independent: the crash fires even when the requested members do not match the malicious entry path — the attacker only needs the consumer to *use* member selection. - Standalone `mapHas` overflows at 20k–30k segments; on the real streaming path (atop `write → CONSUMECHUNK → CONSUMEHEADER → filter`) it crashes at ≤8k segments (finder's ~12k estimate is accurate for the reachable path). - Control (no member list → no filter) parses cleanly (exit 0), isolating `mapHas`. ## Affected Versions `<= 7.5.20` (npm `tar`). `mapHas` present verbatim on tag `v7.5.20` (latest GitHub release and npm `dist-tag latest`); no segment/depth cap in `src/list.ts` or the `CONSUMEHEADER` filter path; HEAD == 7.5.20, no unreleased fix. ## Suggested Fix Rewrite `mapHas` iteratively (walk `dirname` in a `while` loop with a segment/visited cap), or enforce a hard path-segment limit in `Header`/`Parser` independent of `maxMetaEntrySize`, applied before any per-entry filter runs. ## Dedup Note Distinct from CVE-2024-28863 / GHSA-f5x3-32g6-qm9j "lack of folders depth validation" (that bounds `mkdir` recursion during *extraction* via `maxDepth` in `Unpack[CHECKPATH]` on the `'entry'` event — a different sink, code path, and fix; runs after the filter and does not apply to `tar.t`). Also distinct from the PAX NUL/numeric-path crash advisories (improper-input-to-fs / type confusion, not recursion) and the gzip-bomb advisory (resource exhaustion on disk writes). None touch `list.ts`/`filesFilter`/`mapHas` or require member selection. --- Reported by **zx (Jace)** — GitHub: @manus-use

Source published

24 Jul 2026 16:26:16 UTC

Source modified

10 Sep 2026 03:51:11 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:17:17 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Publisher rating · HIGH