[Full-disclosure] GNU tar directory traversal

[virus at nolog.org]

Hello,

Siim Põder wrote:
> So, for example, I make a tar archieve that contains a symlink to
> 'bla'->'/etc' and 'bla/passwd', that - if opened by root - would
> overwrite the passwd file.

right from the man page: A confirmation is needed if -w is used.

> Discussing wether root should ever run tar is irrelevant.

Agreed, the discussion whether root should *run* tar or not is 
irrelevant. One shouldn't *trust* tar files from unknown/untrusted 
sources, root or not.

GTi