N15 name-control-characterA control character in a name, here a newline, created as it is.
Tolerate(draft) A strict parser may reject this archive. If it accepts it, it must extract the tree below.
name.control-character: created as it is: every implementation reads the name alike, and the risk is in its useN15-name-control-character.tar |
test archive, 2,048 bytes
sha256 c63937669d0975819701fa469617ba74aa338cfbdca548200a270b148838b51b |
N15-name-control-character.json | expected result |
N15-name-control-character.txt | annotated blocks |
N15-name-control-character.py | generator script |
The name a\nb is valid on Unix, as is any name with a control character, [\x01-\x1f\x7f], and every implementation that extracts it creates that name. A tar reader has no other way to read it: the risk is in what is done with the name afterwards, where a newline makes it look like two names, a and b, in the output of ls piped to another command, in manifests and in scripts, and a carriage return or ESC makes a terminal show another name. A strict parser may reject it; the default policy creates it as it is.
The tree to extract:
| path | kind | contents |
|---|---|---|
a\x0ab | file | 21 bytes, sha256 93d2f841 |
Seen in: gocryptfs 2.5.1 and deja-vu 0.4, with newlines, and cdrtools 3.02a09, wgrib2 3.6.0 and apktool 2.6.0, with ESC and DEL.
Every block of 512 bytes, to scale, with its offset. Hover over a field for its bytes.
N15-name-control-character: tolerated: a strict parser may reject it; if it accepts it, it must extract its tree, and the default policy accepts it
A control character in a name, here a newline, created as it is.
The name `a\nb` is valid on Unix, as is any name with a control character, `[\x01-\x1f\x7f]`, and
every implementation that extracts it creates that name. A tar reader has no other way to read it:
the risk is in what is done with the name afterwards, where a newline makes it look like two names,
`a` and `b`, in the output of `ls` piped to another command, in manifests and in scripts, and a
carriage return or ESC makes a terminal show another name. A strict parser may reject it; the
default policy creates it as it is.
Seen in: gocryptfs 2.5.1 and deja-vu 0.4, with newlines, and cdrtools 3.02a09, wgrib2 3.6.0 and
apktool 2.6.0, with ESC and DEL.
0x000000 header: regular file
name [ 0,100) "a\nb" + 97 NUL
mode [100,108) "0000644" + NUL 644 (octal)
uid [108,116) "0000000" + NUL 0
gid [116,124) "0000000" + NUL 0
size [124,136) "00000000025" + NUL 21
mtime [136,148) "00000000000" + NUL 0
chksum [148,156) "007521\0 " 3921: the unsigned sum of the header, this field as spaces
typeflag [156,157) "0" regular file
linkname [157,257) 100 NUL
magic [257,263) "ustar" + NUL
version [263,265) "00"
uname [265,297) 32 NUL
gname [297,329) 32 NUL
devmajor [329,337) "0000000" + NUL 0
devminor [337,345) "0000000" + NUL 0
prefix [345,500) 155 NUL
pad [500,512) 12 NUL
0x000200 data
21 bytes, then 491 NUL to the end of the block
"a newline in my name\n"
0x000400 2 zero blocks: the end-of-archive marker
0x000800 end of file
As xxd writes it: xxd -r makes the archive of it.
00000000: 610a 6200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 a.b............. 00000010: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000020: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000030: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000040: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000050: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000060: 0000 0000 3030 3030 3634 3400 3030 3030 ....0000644.0000 00000070: 3030 3000 3030 3030 3030 3000 3030 3030 000.0000000.0000 00000080: 3030 3030 3032 3500 3030 3030 3030 3030 0000025.00000000 00000090: 3030 3000 3030 3735 3231 0020 3000 0000 000.007521. 0... 000000a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000000b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000000c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000000d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000000e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000000f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000100: 0075 7374 6172 0030 3000 0000 0000 0000 .ustar.00....... 00000110: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000120: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000130: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000140: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0030 3030 3030 3030 .........0000000 00000150: 0030 3030 3030 3030 0000 0000 0000 0000 .0000000........ 00000160: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000170: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000180: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000190: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000001a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000001b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000001c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000001d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000001e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000001f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000200: 6120 6e65 776c 696e 6520 696e 206d 7920 a newline in my 00000210: 6e61 6d65 0a00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 name............ 00000220: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000230: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000240: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000250: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000260: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000270: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000280: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000290: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000002a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000002b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000002c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000002d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000002e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000002f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000300: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000310: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000320: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000330: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000340: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000350: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000360: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000370: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000380: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000390: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000003a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000003b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000003c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000003d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000003e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000003f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000400: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000410: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000420: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000430: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000440: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000450: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000460: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000470: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000480: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000490: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000004a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000004b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000004c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000004d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000004e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000004f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000500: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000510: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000520: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000530: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000540: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000550: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000560: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000570: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000580: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000590: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000005a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000005b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000005c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000005d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000005e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000005f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000600: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000610: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000620: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000630: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000640: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000650: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000660: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000670: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000680: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000690: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000006a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000006b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000006c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000006d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000006e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000006f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000700: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000710: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000720: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000730: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000740: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000750: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000760: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000770: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000780: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 00000790: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000007a0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000007b0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000007c0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000007d0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000007e0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 000007f0: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................
| implementation | version | outcome | what it makes of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| GNU tar | tar (GNU tar) 1.35 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| bsdtar | bsdtar 3.8.10 - libarchive 3.8.10 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| BusyBox tar | BusyBox v1.38.0, defconfig | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| 7-Zip | 7-Zip (z) 26.05 (x64) | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Python tarfile, filter=data, as in pip | CPython 3.15.2 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Python tarfile, filter=tar | CPython 3.15.2 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Python tarfile, filter=fully_trusted | CPython 3.15.2 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| node-tar | tar 7.5.22 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| node-tar, strict | tar 7.5.22 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| tar-fs | tar-fs 3.1.3, on tar-stream 3.2.2 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Java Commons Compress | Commons Compress 1.28.0, Expander, on Java 27.0.1.0.2 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| .NET System.Formats.Tar | System.Formats.Tar of .NET 10.0.14, ExtractToDirectory | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| PHP PharData, as in Composer | PharData of PHP 8.5.12, as Composer's TarDownloader calls it | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Go containerd archive.Apply | containerd v2.4.2, archive.Apply, of go1.27.3 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Rust tar | tar 0.4.46, unpack | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Rust astral-tokio-tar | astral-tokio-tar 0.7.0, unpack | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Rust tar-codec, as in uv | tar-codec 0.0.15, with the policies of uv 0.13 | ➖ rejects | error: at byte 0: extraction policy rejected input: archive member path rejected by name policy: "a\nb" |
| RubyGems | RubyGems 4.0.20 of Ruby 4.0.9, extract_tar_gz | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| R untar, internal | utils::untar of R 4.6.1, tar = "internal" | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Perl Archive::Tar | Archive::Tar 3.12 of Perl v5.44.0 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Haskell tar | tar 0.7.2.0, extract, of GHC 9.14 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| Julia Tar.jl | Tar 1.10.0 of Julia 1.13.3 | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| live-bootstrap untar | mescc-tools-extra a151c245e512, as live-bootstrap pins it, built with cc | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
| live-bootstrap untar, --non-strict | mescc-tools-extra a151c245e512, as live-bootstrap pins it, built with cc | ➕ accepts | the tree of the case |
Release tarballs of Spack, nixpkgs, Guix and live-bootstrap, and samples of PyPI, crates.io and RubyGems with name.control-character. The default policy accepts them.
| ecosystem | tarballs | with it | share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spack | 37,553 | 8 | 0.02% |
| nixpkgs | 18,990 | 1 | <0.01% |
| Guix | 10,168 | 0 | none |
| PyPI | 10,000 | 0 | none |
| crates.io | 5,000 | 0 | none |
| RubyGems | 5,000 | 2 | 0.04% |
| live-bootstrap | 171 | 0 | none |
| total (distinct) | 82,586 | 11 | 0.01% |
See a sample of these 11 tarballs, with the sha256 of each and an example from it.