CVE-2018-20482

tar: Infinite read loop in sparse_dump_region function in sparse.c

Loading…

Severity

Low

Red Hat Product Security

5.5

CVSS 3.0

Review impact separately from score.

Published · December 26, 2018

Updated · October 14, 2026

Description

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).

Statement

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is not affected by this vulnerability because ships already patched version of tar.

CVSS score applicability

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation

No mitigation is specified in collected source.

CVSS / CWE

CVSS 3.0 · 5.5
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE-835 · Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')