CVE-2026-108119: busybox Link Following

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-108119 is a medium (CVSS 6.3) Link Following vulnerability in busybox. EPSS estimates a 0.14% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 2.6% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 09-10-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 13-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

A flaw was found in busybox. The tar applet's deferred link-creation handling for symlink and hardlink entries with unsafe-looking targets does not validate that the resolved destination remains inside the extraction directory once the deferred link is created. An attacker can craft a tar archive using a symlink target of exactly '..' combined with a deferred hardlink to create a new file outside the extraction directory, or reuse an extraction directory across two archives to replace an existing file outside it. If the archive is extracted with elevated privileges, this flaw can lead to privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.

• CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.