ast-cli: Path traversal in tar extraction on Linux/macOS allows writes outside the install directory

Overview

Incomplete validation of extracted archive entry paths in ast-cli's tar extraction logic on Linux and macOS (used when installing the Vorpal ASCA real-time engine and the SCA Resolver) would allow a malicious tar archive containing absolute or traversal path entries to write files outside the install directory. Windows builds were not affected, as the Windows extractor performs this path validation.

Exploitation required substituting the archive served at "download.checkmarx.com". An attacker able to compromise that server and replace the archive could write arbitrary, executable files to arbitrary filesystem paths via this path traversal.

Extraction now validates that each entry's destination path resolves within the working directory and rejects absolute paths.

Affected

• github.com/checkmarx/ast-cli < 2.3.51

Remediation

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