CVE-2020-28948

HIGH

Archive_Tar < 1.4.11 - Deserialization of Untrusted Data via PHAR Case Bypass

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 3 public exploits for CVE-2020-28948. PoCs published by 0x240x23elu, JinHao-L, nopdata.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository provides references to CVE-2020-28948 and CVE-2020-28949, which involve PHP unserialize vulnerabilities in the PEAR Archive_Tar library. It links to external resources for further technical details but does not contain exploit code.

Description

Archive_Tar through 1.4.10 allows an unserialization attack because phar: is blocked but PHAR: is not blocked.

Exploits (3)

nomisec WRITEUP 6 stars
by 0x240x23elu · poc
https://github.com/0x240x23elu/CVE-2020-28948-and-CVE-2020-28949

This repository provides references to CVE-2020-28948 and CVE-2020-28949, which involve PHP unserialize vulnerabilities in the PEAR Archive_Tar library. It links to external resources for further technical details but does not contain exploit code.

Classification
Writeup 80%
Attack Type
Deserialization
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: PEAR Archive_Tar
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a vulnerable version of PEAR Archive_Tar · Ability to craft malicious serialized data
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by JinHao-L · poc
https://github.com/JinHao-L/PoC-for-CVE-2020-28948-CVE-2020-28949

This repository contains functional exploit code for CVE-2020-28948 and CVE-2020-28949, demonstrating PHAR deserialization and inclusion attacks against the Archive_Tar library. The PoC includes scripts to generate malicious tar archives that trigger arbitrary file deletion and remote code execution.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Deserialization, Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: PEAR Archive_Tar library
No auth needed
Prerequisites: PHP environment with phar.readonly=0 · Target server running vulnerable Archive_Tar library
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SUSPICIOUS
by nopdata · poc
https://github.com/nopdata/cve-2020-28948

The repository contains a Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml but no actual exploit code. It references an external POC link and lacks technical details about the vulnerability.

Classification
Suspicious 90%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Theoretical
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Archive_Tar (PHP library)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: none specified
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →

References (11)

Core 11
Core References
Exploit, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/issues/33
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2020-013
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00045.html
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_debian
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4817
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_gentoo
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202101-23

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.4749
EPSS Percentile 98.7%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-502
Status published
Products (9)
debian/debian_linux 9.0
debian/debian_linux 10.0
drupal/drupal 7.0 - 7.75
fedoraproject/fedora 32
fedoraproject/fedora 33
fedoraproject/fedora 34
fedoraproject/fedora 35
pear/archive_tar 0 - 1.4.11Packagist
php/archive_tar < 1.4.11
Published Nov 19, 2020
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026