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

Reference page built from the source records below, each shown as its source publishes it. Dataset version ref-b69e5ee1a8f4, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z.

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name
PEAR Archive_Tar Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability
Vendor
PEAR
Product
Archive_Tar
Added to the catalog
2022-08-25
Due date for US federal agencies
2022-09-15
Weaknesses
CWE-74
Catalog version
2026.10.30

PEAR Archive_Tar allows an unserialization attack because phar: is blocked but PHAR: is not blocked. PEAR stands for PHP Extension and Application Repository and it is an open-source framework and distribution system for reusable PHP components with known usage in third-party products such as Drupal Core and Red Hat Linux.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.

Links in CISA's notes

Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

NVD analysis

Status
Analyzed
Published
2020-11-19T19:15:11.937
Last modified
2026-06-17T03:10:53.810
Weaknesses
NVD-CWE-noinfo

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.

MetricScoreSeverityVectorScored by
CVSS 3.17.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H[email protected] (Primary)
CVSS 3.17.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Secondary)
CVSS 2.06.8MEDIUMAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P[email protected] (Primary)

References

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:51.476Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2020-28949

CVE record

Assigner
mitre
State
PUBLISHED
Published
2020-11-19T18:14:18.000Z
Updated
2025-10-21T23:35:32.687Z
Problem types
n/a

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.

References

Read on 2026-11-03T01:04:18.204Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2020/28xxx/CVE-2020-28949.json

Also known as / affected packages

Sources and licences

  • CISA

    Source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30, CC0 1.0. Use of this data does not imply endorsement by CISA or DHS.

    CC0 1.0 Universal

  • National Vulnerability Database (NIST)

    This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

    NVD API Terms of Use (NIST publications in the public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105)

  • CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation

    Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

    CVE Program Terms of Use ("CVE Usage" licence)

  • GitHub Advisory Database via OSV.dev

    GHSA-75c5-f4gw-38r9: GitHub Advisory Database, https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-75c5-f4gw-38r9. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), provided as is, without warranties. Retrieved via OSV.dev (https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-75c5-f4gw-38r9), which enriches records; fields selected and reformatted by ransomware-tracker.com.

    CC BY 4.0

  • GitHub Advisory Database via OSV.dev

    GHSA-jh5x-hfhg-78jq: GitHub Advisory Database, https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jh5x-hfhg-78jq. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), provided as is, without warranties. Retrieved via OSV.dev (https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-jh5x-hfhg-78jq), which enriches records; fields selected and reformatted by ransomware-tracker.com.

    CC BY 4.0

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "CVE-2020-28949: PEAR Archive_Tar Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability",
entity page, dataset version ref-b69e5ee1a8f4, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/cve/CVE-2020-28949 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30.
Underlying source: National Vulnerability Database (NIST), CVE API 2.0, record last modified 2026-06-17T03:10:53.810.
Underlying source: CVE List (CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation), record updated 2025-10-21T23:35:32.687Z.
Underlying source: GitHub Advisory Database, GHSA-75c5-f4gw-38r9, via OSV.dev, modified 2025-12-10T23:40:57.172131Z.
Underlying source: GitHub Advisory Database, GHSA-jh5x-hfhg-78jq, via OSV.dev, modified 2025-12-10T23:40:57.172131Z.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.

CISA KEV index