What is CVE-2016-6321?

CVE-2016-6321 is a high-severity vulnerability in GNU Tar, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2016-12-09.

How severe is CVE-2016-6321?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.

Is CVE-2016-6321 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Path Traversal in GNU Tar

CVE-2016-6321

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.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

Published 2016-12-09 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.157 (96.9th percentile), scored 2026-11-01.

Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 97th percentile — 96.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.157 · newest: 0.157 · change: 0.000

Affected products

GNU Tar — versions 1.14, 1.15, 1.15.1

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-22 — Path Traversal

Public proof-of-concept exploits

tomwillfixit/alpine-cvecheck

References

seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Oct/102 (mailing-list, Patch, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/93937 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
security.gentoo.org/glsa/201611-19 (vendor-advisory)
seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Oct/96 (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/tar.git/commit/ (Patch, Issue Tracking)
lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-tar/2016-10/msg00016.html (Vendor Advisory, mailing-list, Mailing List)
www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3702 (vendor-advisory)
sintonen.fi/advisories/tar-extract-pathname-bypass.proper.txt (Third Party Advisory)
packetstormsecurity.com/files/139370/GNU-tar-1.29-Extract-Pathname-Bypass.html (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)
www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3132-1 (vendor-advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-6321?: CVE-2016-6321 is a high-severity vulnerability in GNU Tar, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2016-12-09.
How severe is CVE-2016-6321?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2016-6321 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.