CVE-2020-36193
Path Traversal in Fedoraproject Fedora 32 … 35
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:NSummary
CVE-2020-36193 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked in the top 0.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
Tar.php in the Archive_Tar PHP library through version 1.4.11 contains a directory traversal flaw that permits write operations because symbolic links are not adequately validated before extraction. The issue is tracked under CWE-22 and CWE-59 and is described as related to CVE-2020-28948. It received a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and high integrity impact without requiring authentication.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply a crafted tar archive containing symbolic links that, when processed by Archive_Tar, result in files being written to arbitrary locations on the target filesystem. Successful exploitation allows modification of files outside the intended extraction directory, potentially leading to configuration changes, code injection, or other integrity violations.
Upstream remediation is available in the form of a commit to the pear/Archive_Tar repository that strengthens symlink handling. Distribution-specific advisories from Debian LTS and Fedora recommend updating to a patched version of the package to address the vulnerability.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2021-0874
Vulnerability Data
Tar.php in Archive_Tar through 1.4.11 allows write operations with Directory Traversal due to inadequate checking of symbolic links, a related issue to CVE-2020-28948.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 25 August 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2V15.4.2
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.