CVE-2020-28948: Pear/archive tar Deserialization Of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jh5x-hfhg-78jq
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-28948 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Pear/archive tar libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves deserialization of untrusted data in archive_tar. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.4.11.

CVE-2020-28948 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-28948
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jh5x-hfhg-78jq
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Pear/archive tar
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2020-28948

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pear/archive tar dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

pear/archive_tar fixed: 1.4.11 
Upgrade pear/archive_tar to 1.4.11
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for pear/archive_tar

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-28948, inspect your project dependencies for Pear/archive tar:

inspect dependencies for pear/archive_tar

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pear/archive tar in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.4.11), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Pear/archive tar, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Archive_Tar through 1.4.10 allows an unserialization attack because `phar:` is blocked but `PHAR:` is not blocked. See: https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/issues/33

CVE-2020-28948 Affected Pear/archive tar Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.4.11
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
pear/archive_tar
 Packagist
< 1.4.11
1.4.11

References

NVD — CVE-2020-28948 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28948
Pear/archive tar Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/issues/33
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/commit/0670a05fdab997036a3fc3ef113b8f5922e574da
Pear/archive tar Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00045.html
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/42GPGVVFTLJYAKRI75IVB5R45NYQGEUR
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4V35LBRM6HBCXBVCITKQ4UEBTXO2EG7B
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5KSFM672XW3X6BR7TVKRD63SLZGKK437
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KWM4CTMEGAC4I2CHYNJVSROY4CVXVEUT
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NBYZSHYTIOBK6V7C4N7TP6KIKCRKLVWP
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VJQQYDAOWHD6RDITDRPHFW7WY6BS3V5N
Pear/archive tar Security Information SECURITY
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-23
Pear/archive tar Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4817
www.drupal.org/sa-core-2020-013 WEB
https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2020-013

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-28948?
CVE-2020-28948 is a security vulnerability in Pear/archive tar involving Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Archive_Tar under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Pear/archive tar versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.4.11 across affected packages: pear/archive_tar.
What version fixes CVE-2020-28948?
Upgrading to 1.4.11 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pear/archive_tar affected?
Yes, pear/archive_tar is affected in releases prior to 1.4.11. Upgrade your dependency to 1.4.11 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-28948?
CVE-2020-28948 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-28948?
CVE-2020-28948 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2020-28948?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for pear/archive_tar'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-jh5x-hfhg-78jq",
  "modified" : "2023-07-05T23:21:42Z",
  "published" : "2021-04-22T16:20:50Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-28948" ],
  "summary" : "Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Archive_Tar",
  "details" : "Archive_Tar through 1.4.10 allows an unserialization attack because `phar:` is blocked but `PHAR:` is not blocked. See: https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/issues/33",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "pear/archive_tar"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.4.11"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28948"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/issues/33"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/commit/0670a05fdab997036a3fc3ef113b8f5922e574da"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00045.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/42GPGVVFTLJYAKRI75IVB5R45NYQGEUR"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4V35LBRM6HBCXBVCITKQ4UEBTXO2EG7B"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5KSFM672XW3X6BR7TVKRD63SLZGKK437"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KWM4CTMEGAC4I2CHYNJVSROY4CVXVEUT"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NBYZSHYTIOBK6V7C4N7TP6KIKCRKLVWP"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VJQQYDAOWHD6RDITDRPHFW7WY6BS3V5N"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-23"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4817"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2020-013"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-03-23T00:18:26Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-11-19T19:15:00Z"
  }
}