CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV High exploit reference

CVE-2020-28949 — PEAR Archive_Tar Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

Archive_Tar through 1.4.10 has :// filename sanitization only to address phar attacks, and thus any other stream-wrapper attack (such as file:// to overwrite files) can still succeed.

Published Nov 19, 2020 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, NIST National Vulnerability Database, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: mitre

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

CISA KEV · Aug 25, 2022 Metasploit modules · 1
How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Public exploit/PoC (metasploit)+12
  • EPSS 84.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Aug 25, 2022
EPSS FIRST
84.55%
ahead of 100% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
Debian
Debian Linux and 4 more
CVSS base
7.8
High · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Composer Pear/archive Tar: fixed in version 1.4.11 — github.com (GitHub Security Advisories)

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: Sep 15, 2022 — passed 1492 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Drupal Drupal, Fedoraproject Fedora…).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  4. Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
  5. EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  6. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Debian Debian Linux version 9.0version 10.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Drupal Drupal ≥ 7.0 and < 7.75≥ 8.0.0 and < 8.9.10≥ 8.8.0 and < 8.8.12≥ 9.0.0 and < 9.0.9 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Fedoraproject Fedora version 32version 33version 34version 35 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Php Archive Tar < 1.4.12 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Composer Pear/archive Tar < 1.4.11 Vulnerable GitHub Security Advisories

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
6.8 CVSS 2.0 Medium 8.6 6.4 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Aug 25, 2022
Federal deadline
Sep 15, 2022
passed 1492 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Metasploit modules

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 84.55%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Aug 25, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · GitHub Security Advisories
  • Affected products added · composer/pear/archive tar
    Oct 13, 2026 · GitHub Security Advisories
  • Affected products added · php/archive tar, debian/debian linux, fedoraproject/fedora, drupal/drupal
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · Published → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.8
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Source status changed · → Published
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2022
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Aug 24, 2022 · CISA
  • 2020
  • CVE published
    Nov 19, 2020 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 3× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

29 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Debian
every CVE for this vendor
2022-08
what else CISA listed that month

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-12996 A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.20 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.4 allows remote... Jul 30, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55808 Drupal core - Moderately critical - Improper validation - SA-CORE-2026-009 Jul 10, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55803 Drupal core - Critical - PHP object injection - SA-CORE-2026-005 Jul 10, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55804 Drupal core - Moderately critical - Gadget chain - SA-CORE-2026-006 Jul 10, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55807 Drupal core - Moderately critical - Server-side request forgery - SA-CORE-2026-008 Jul 10, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55806 Drupal core - Less critical - Cache poisoning and open redirect - SA-CORE-2026-007 Jul 10, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2020-28949 is "PEAR Archive_Tar Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 84.55% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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