tar: Infinite read loop in sparse_dump_region function in sparse.c
Published Dec 26, 2018
4.7
MEDIUMCVSS 3.1
EPSS 0.53%
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).
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 2
- 8.0
- 9.0
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
tar
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
tar
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
tar
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
tar
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | tar | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | tar | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | tar | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | tar | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is not affected by this vulnerability because ships already patched version of tar.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Table of values (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.53% (0.00526) | 42.47th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.53% (0.00526) | 40.15th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.01% (0.00012) | 0.90th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.07th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 68.34th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 41.72th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 1.52% (0.01516) | 33.38th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 1.38% (0.01379) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (14)
- http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/tar.git/commit/?id=c15c42ccd1e2377945fd0414eca1a49294bff454 x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
- http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-tar/2018-12/msg00023.html x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00077.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSEMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106354 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-20482 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1662346 Issue Tracking
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/12/msg00023.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/11/msg00025.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18745431 x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20482
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201903-05 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory
- https://twitter.com/thatcks/status/1076166645708668928 x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/sysadmin/TarFindingTruncateBug x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-20482
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.