Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-20193


A flaw was found in the src/list.c of tar 1.33 and earlier. This flaw allows an attacker who can submit a crafted input file to tar to cause uncontrolled consumption of memory. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to system availability.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a LOW severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 3.3, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and limited availability for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from gnu organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2021-03-26T17:15:12.843

Last Modified

2025-05-05T14:15:04.557

Status

Analyzed

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 3.3 (LOW)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: NONE
  • Integrity Impact: NONE
  • Availability Impact: PARTIAL
Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-401
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-125
    CWE-401

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application gnu tar ≤ 1.33 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For gnu's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.