GNU cpio through 2.13 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted pattern file, because of a dstring.c ds_fgetstr integer overflow that triggers an out-of-bounds heap write. NOTE: it is unclear whether there are common cases where the pattern file, associated with the -E option, is untrusted data.

In all versions of cpio before 2.13 does not properly validate input files when generating TAR archives. When cpio is used to create TAR archives from paths an attacker can write to, the resulting archive may contain files with permissions the attacker did not have or in paths he did not have access to. Extracting those archives from a high-privilege user without carefully reviewing them may lead to the compromise of the system.

The cpio_safer_name_suffix function in util.c in cpio 2.11 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds write) via a crafted cpio file.

cpio 2.11, when using the --no-absolute-filenames option, allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a file in an archive.

Heap-based buffer overflow in the process_copy_in function in GNU Cpio 2.11 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a large block value in a cpio archive.

cpio, as used in build 2007.05.10, 2010.07.28, and possibly other versions, allows remote attackers to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink within an RPM package archive.