Argument Injection in Unix CLI Tools : A Case Study of Tar (CVE-2016-6321)

Hi @david-a-wheeler

We propose to write a secure coding case study on the tar argument injection vulnerability (CVE-2016-6321).

Description:
Directory traversal vulnerability in the safer_name_suffix function in GNU tar 1.14 through 1.29 might allow remote attackers to bypass an intended protection mechanism and write to arbitrary files via vectors related to improper sanitization of the file_name parameter, aka POINTYFEATHER.

This vulnerability arises when tar interprets attacker controlled filenames as command-line options, allowing arbitrary command execution when scripts use wildcard expansion (e.g., *) on untrusted directories.

Our case study will focus on root cause, exploitation scenarios and systemic prevention strategies. Please let us know if we could proceed with this vulnerability.

Group members:
Bavithirai Vasugui Mathiazhagan
Aadhya Enllawar

Thank you !

No target file, template, or test is named. Review the repository’s existing case studies first, then prepare the tar CVE-2016-6321 case study covering the stated root cause, exploitation scenarios, and systemic prevention strategies; done means the case study is complete and consistent with the project’s format.