The npm package "tar" (aka node-tar) before versions 6.1.1, 5.0.6, 4.4.14, and 3.3.2 has a arbitrary File Creation/Overwrite vulnerability due to insufficient absolute path sanitization. node-tar aims to prevent extraction of absolute file paths by turning absolute paths into relative paths when the preservePaths flag is not set to true. This is achieved by stripping the absolute path root from any absolute file paths contained in a tar file. For example /home/user/.bashrc would turn into home/user/.bashrc. This logic was insufficient when file paths contained repeated path roots such as ////home/user/.bashrc. node-tar would only strip a single path root from such paths. When given an absolute file path with repeating path roots, the resulting path (e.g. ///home/user/.bashrc) would still resolve to an absolute path, thus allowing arbitrary file creation and overwrite. This issue was addressed in releases 3.2.2, 4.4.14, 5.0.6 and 6.1.1. Users may work around this vulnerability without upgrading by creating a custom onentry method which sanitizes the entry.path or a filter method which removes entries with absolute paths. See referenced GitHub Advisory for details. Be aware of CVE-2021-32803 which fixes a similar bug in later versions of tar.
CVE-2021-32804
This high-severity CVE scores 8.2 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 15.0%, top 4% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 8.2
- EG Score
- 8.2(medium)
- EG Risk
- 57(Track)EG Risk 57/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity82% × 45%Exploitation40% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS
- 96.4%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
August 3, 2021
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
References (12)
- security-advisories@githubhttps://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-389290.pdf
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/npm/node-tar/commit/1f036ca23f64a547bdd6c79c1a44bc62e8115da4
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/npm/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-3jfq-g458-7qm9
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1770
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.npmjs.com/package/tar
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-389290.pdf
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/npm/node-tar/commit/1f036ca23f64a547bdd6c79c1a44bc62e8115da4
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/npm/node-tar/security/advisories/GHSA-3jfq-g458-7qm9
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1770
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.npmjs.com/package/tar
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2021-32804(2)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Patch Availability(7)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| redhat | odf/odf-multicluster-rhel8-operator:4.9-30.007b3d8.release_4.9 | 2021-12-13 | redhat |
| redhat | nodejs:14-8040020210817165654.522a0ee4 | 2021-09-27 | redhat |
| redhat | nodejs:12-8020020210817125332.4cda2c84 | 2021-09-22 | redhat |
| redhat | nodejs:12-8010020210817113128.c27ad7f8 | 2021-09-22 | redhat |
| redhat | nodejs:12-8040020210817133458.522a0ee4 | 2021-09-21 | redhat |
| redhat | rh-nodejs12-nodejs-nodemon-0:2.0.3-5.el7 | 2021-08-26 | redhat |
| redhat | rh-nodejs14-nodejs-0:14.17.5-1.el7 | 2021-08-26 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Affected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
npm(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| tar | — | 6.1.1 | — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(5)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
- Red HatRHSA-2021:3623MODERATE2021-08-03
RHSA-2021:3623 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:3638MODERATE2021-08-03
RHSA-2021:3638 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:3639MODERATE2021-08-03
RHSA-2021:3639 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:3666MODERATE2021-08-03
RHSA-2021:3666 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:5086MODERATE2021-08-03
RHSA-2021:5086 — Moderate
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 15× in last 7d / 44× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-23 02:01 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 22:48 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-07-19 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-18 15:29 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-07-18 10:02 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-07-09 19:07 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-08 15:12 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-07-06 16:25 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-30 23:20 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-30 21:30 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-28 14:05 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-13 22:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-13 22:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-13 00:46 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 12:44 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-26 12:44 UTCVendor advisory
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Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2021-32804?
When was CVE-2021-32804 disclosed?
Is CVE-2021-32804 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-32804?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-32804?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-32804
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