CVE-2026-59874
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditednode-tar is a tar archive manipulation library for Node.js. Prior to 7.5.18, tar.replace accepts a checksum-valid tar header with a negative base-256 encoded entry size, causing the archive scanner to make no progress while repeatedly parsing the same header. This issue is fixed in version 7.5.18.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencenode-tar versions prior to 7.5.18 accept a checksum-valid tar header containing a negative base-256 encoded entry size, causing the archive parser to enter an infinite loop where it repeatedly parses the same header without making progress, resulting in denial of service.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 7.5.18CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify node-tar package versionRun 'npm list node-tar' or check the package-lock.json file for the installed version of the node-tar packageAffected if The installed version is lower than 7.5.18
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Locate node-tar in dependenciesExamine your project's package.json file under 'dependencies' or 'devDependencies' for the node-tar entry and its specified version rangeAffected if The version listed is less than 7.5.18 (e.g., ^7.0.0, 7.5.0, or any version starting with 7.x below 7.5.18)
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Determine if tar parsing is in useSearch your codebase for calls to tar.extract(), tar.list(), tar.parse(), or other node-tar entry point methods that process tar archivesAffected if The application code invokes any node-tar parsing functions on tar archives
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Assess source of tar archivesReview whether your application processes tar files from untrusted or external sources (user uploads, network downloads, third-party packages)Affected if The application parses tar archives from untrusted sources, enabling maliciously crafted archives with negative base-256 sizes to trigger the infinite loop
You are affected if your installed node-tar version is below 7.5.18 and your application parses tar archives, particularly from untrusted sources, allowing a specially crafted tar header to cause an infinite loop.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped7.5.18
Upgrade node-tar to version 7.5.18 or later to resolve the vulnerability.
node-tar version 7.5.18
- Identify all projects using the node-tar package (dependency scanning)
- Run npm list tar or npm audit to confirm current version is below 7.5.18
- Update package.json to specify tar@^7.5.18 or later
- Run npm install to fetch the fixed version
- Rebuild and redeploy applications using the updated dependency
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-59874 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-59874 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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