CVE-2020-36193: PEAR Archive_Tar Improper Link Resolution Vulnerability

How to check if you are exposed to CVE-2020-36193

1. Find every PEAR Archive_Tar system you or your clients run, including ones exposed to the internet. Those come first: CISA only lists flaws attackers are already using.
2. Compare each version with the fixed versions in the vendor advisory below. Where no fix exists yet, apply the vendor’s mitigation or take the system off the internet.
3. Run a credentialed vulnerability scan to catch the systems you missed, then check that the next scan no longer reports CVE-2020-36193.

US federal agencies had to fix this by 2022-09-15. Everyone else should treat that deadline as a guide: if it has passed, this is overdue.

Timeline

1. 2022-08-25 · Added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
2. 2022-09-15 · Fix-by date for US federal agencies, passed 1,508 days ago

Vendor advisories and fixes

• https://github.com/pear/Archive_Tar/commit/cde460582ff389404b5b3ccb59374e9b389de916
• https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2021-001
• https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2020-36193

Weakness type

• CWE-22
• CWE-59

More exploited PEAR vulnerabilities

CISA lists 2 exploited PEAR vulnerabilities. The closest matches:

• CVE-2020-28949PEAR Archive_Tar Deserialization of Untrusted Data VulnerabilityAdded 2022-08-25

Keep going

• All exploited CVEs
• Check another CVE
• What is CISA KEV?
• What is EPSS?

Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (version 2026.10.30); EPSS data from FIRST.org; CVSS and descriptions from the NIST National Vulnerability Database. Checked 2026-11-01. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.