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Rust's tar archive unpacking allows malicious directory modification

USN-8168-2
Summary

Rust's tar archive unpacking functionality has a vulnerability that allows an attacker to modify directory permissions, potentially leading to privilege escalation. This could happen if a user or system is tricked into processing a specially crafted tar archive. To fix this, update to the latest version of Rust.

What to do
  • Update canonical rustc to version 1.31.0+dfsg1+llvm-2ubuntu1~14.04.1ubuntu1.
  • Update canonical rustc to version 1.47.0+dfsg1+llvm-1ubuntu1~16.04.1ubuntu2.
  • Update canonical rustc to version 1.65.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~llvm2-0ubuntu0.18.04.1.
  • Update canonical rustc to version 1.75.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1.
  • Update canonical rustc-1.76 to version 1.76.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1.
  • Update canonical rustc-1.77 to version 1.77.2+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1.
  • Update canonical rustc-1.78 to version 1.78.0+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1.
  • Update canonical rustc-1.79 to version 1.79.0+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.3.
  • Update canonical rustc-1.80 to version 1.80.1+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1.
Affected software
Ecosystem VendorProductAffected versions
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS canonical rustc < 1.31.0+dfsg1+llvm-2ubuntu1~14.04.1ubuntu1
Fix: upgrade to 1.31.0+dfsg1+llvm-2ubuntu1~14.04.1ubuntu1
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS canonical rustc < 1.47.0+dfsg1+llvm-1ubuntu1~16.04.1ubuntu2
Fix: upgrade to 1.47.0+dfsg1+llvm-1ubuntu1~16.04.1ubuntu2
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS canonical rustc < 1.65.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~llvm2-0ubuntu0.18.04.1
Fix: upgrade to 1.65.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~llvm2-0ubuntu0.18.04.1
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS canonical rustc < 1.75.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Fix: upgrade to 1.75.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS canonical rustc-1.76 < 1.76.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Fix: upgrade to 1.76.0+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS canonical rustc-1.77 < 1.77.2+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Fix: upgrade to 1.77.2+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS canonical rustc-1.78 < 1.78.0+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Fix: upgrade to 1.78.0+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS canonical rustc-1.79 < 1.79.0+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.3
Fix: upgrade to 1.79.0+dfsg1ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.3
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS canonical rustc-1.80 < 1.80.1+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Fix: upgrade to 1.80.1+dfsg0ubuntu1~bpo0-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Original title
rustc, rustc-1.76, rustc-1.77, rustc-1.78, rustc-1.79, rustc-1.80 vulnerability
Original description
USN-8168-1 fixed a vulnerability in Rust. This update provides the
corresponding update to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04
LTS and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Original advisory details:

It was discovered that tar-rs embedded in rustc incorrectly handled
symlinks when unpacking a tar archive. If a user or automated system were
tricked into processing a specially crafted tar archive, a remote attacker
could use this issue to modify permissions of arbitrary directories
outside the extraction root, and possibly escalate privileges.
Published: 14 Apr 2026 · Updated: 15 Apr 2026 · First seen: 15 Apr 2026