---
id: CVE-2026-5745
title: A flaw was found in libarchive
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in libarchive. A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability
  exists in the ACL parsing logic, specifically within the
  archive_acl_from_text_nl() function. When processing a malformed ACL string
  (such as a bare "d" or "default…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-476
vendor: libarchive
product: libarchive
affected:
  - libarchive
  - hardened_images
  - openshift_container_platform = 4.0
  - enterprise_linux = 6.0
  - enterprise_linux = 7.0
  - enterprise_linux = 8.0
  - enterprise_linux = 9.0
  - enterprise_linux = 10.0
published: '2026-04-07'
updated: '2026-08-21'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-5745'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8944'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-5745'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2455921'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00163
epssPercentile: 0.05904
ingestedAt: '2026-08-21T22:22:57.236Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in libarchive. A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the ACL parsing logic, specifically within the archive_acl_from_text_nl() function. When processing a malformed ACL string (such as a bare "d" or "default" tag without subsequent fields), the function fails to perform adequate validation before advancing the pointer. An attacker can exploit this by providing a maliciously crafted archive, causing an application utilizing the libarchive API (such as bsdtar) to crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Affected

- `libarchive`
- `hardened_images`
- `openshift_container_platform = 4.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 6.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 7.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 8.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 9.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 10.0`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.