Path Traversal Vulnerability in sos clean Utility by Red Hat

CVE-2026-79655

What is CVE-2026-79655?

A vulnerability exists within the sos clean utility, part of the sos package, that allows local attackers to exploit a path traversal flaw. By creating a specially crafted tar archive, attackers may exploit insufficient validation of symlink and hardlink targets during the tar extraction process. This could enable them to write files to arbitrary locations on the system, utilizing the privileges of the sos clean process, which typically runs with elevated privileges, often as root. This poses a significant risk as it could lead to unauthorized access or manipulation of critical files.

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