Note: This bug is displayed in read-only format because the product is no longer active in Red Hat Bugzilla.

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Description of problem:
There is bug in source code of tar application (app-arch/tar-1.23-r2).
It goes in endless loop in attempt to extract already existing symlink if
option --keep-old-files set.


Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
# rpm -q tar
tar-1.23-3.el6.x86_64


How reproducible:
100%

Steps to Reproduce:
1. touch file
2. ln -s file file_link
3. tar -cf test.tar file_link
4. tar -xkf test.tar  
 
Actual results:
tar goes in endless loop (or loops till link "file_link" will be deleted).

Expected results:
To successfully finish execution and to do not touch symlink.

Additional info:
https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=329105

Fixed in upstream:
http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/tar.git/patch/?id=b60e56fdb6fd8d82a1f92a4fa7781d9a3184dce1

This request was evaluated by Red Hat Product Management for
inclusion in the current release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Because the affected component is not scheduled to be updated
in the current release, Red Hat is unfortunately unable to
address this request at this time. Red Hat invites you to
ask your support representative to propose this request, if
appropriate and relevant, in the next release of Red Hat
Enterprise Linux. If you would like it considered as an
exception in the current release, please ask your support
representative.

Thanks for report, if you want to increase the chance of having the fix for the issue included into RHEL-6 sooner, please contact product support as well. Bugzilla is just bug tracking, not support tool - and RHEL updates are driven by customer requests.

Support case created:

https://access.redhat.com/support/cases/00513814

Since the problem described in this bug report should be
resolved in a recent advisory, it has been closed with a
resolution of ERRATA.

For information on the advisory, and where to find the updated
files, follow the link below.

If the solution does not work for you, open a new bug report.

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2012-0849.html