BusyBox cpio Hardlink Path Traversal Vulnerability (CVE-2026-124744)
CVE-2026-124744 Published on November 11, 2026

Busybox: cpio hardlink target not sanitized under feature_path_traversal_protection
A flaw was found in BusyBox. When extracting files using the cpio utility with path traversal protection enabled, hardlink target paths are not properly sanitized. By tricking a user or automated process into extracting a crafted archive, an attacker can create hardlinks that point to files outside the intended extraction directory. This issue may allow an attacker to modify or overwrite arbitrary files outside the target directory during subsequent extraction operations.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-124744 is exploitable with local system access, requires user interaction. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality and integrity, and no impact on availability.

Exploitation:
NONE
Automatable:
NO
Technical Impact:
TOTAL
Attack Vector:
LOCAL
Attack Complexity:
HIGH
Privileges Required:
NONE
User Interaction:
REQUIRED
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
HIGH
Integrity Impact:
HIGH
Availability Impact:
NONE

Timeline

Reported to Red Hat.

Made public. 17 days later.

Weakness Type

What is an insecure temporary file Vulnerability?

The software attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

CVE-2026-124744 has been classified to as an insecure temporary file vulnerability or weakness.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-124744

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Affected Versions

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6: Red Hat Hardened Images:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.15%
Percentile
4.23%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.