diff --git a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/astreamer_inject.c b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/astreamer_inject.c
index 14a96733bad..a5dff0ac1c6 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/astreamer_inject.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/astreamer_inject.c
@@ -224,8 +224,9 @@ astreamer_inject_file(astreamer *streamer, char *pathname, char *data,
 	strlcpy(member.pathname, pathname, MAXPGPATH);
 	member.size = len;
 	member.mode = pg_file_create_mode;
+	member.is_regular = true;
 	member.is_directory = false;
-	member.is_link = false;
+	member.is_symlink = false;
 	member.linktarget[0] = '\0';
 
 	/*
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
index 271a2c3e481..fecf6f2d1ce 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 #include "pg_backup_archiver.h"
 #include "pg_backup_db.h"
 #include "pg_backup_utils.h"
+#include "pgtar.h"
 
 #define TEXT_DUMP_HEADER "--\n-- PostgreSQL database dump\n--\n\n"
 #define TEXT_DUMPALL_HEADER "--\n-- PostgreSQL database cluster dump\n--\n\n"
@@ -2372,7 +2373,7 @@ _discoverArchiveFormat(ArchiveHandle *AH)
 		}
 
 		if (!isValidTarHeader(AH->lookahead))
-			pg_fatal("input file does not appear to be a valid archive");
+			pg_fatal("input file does not appear to be a valid tar archive");
 
 		AH->format = archTar;
 	}
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.h b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.h
index 365073b3eae..9c3aca6543a 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.h
+++ b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.h
@@ -465,8 +465,6 @@ extern void InitArchiveFmt_Null(ArchiveHandle *AH);
 extern void InitArchiveFmt_Directory(ArchiveHandle *AH);
 extern void InitArchiveFmt_Tar(ArchiveHandle *AH);
 
-extern bool isValidTarHeader(char *header);
-
 extern void ReconnectToServer(ArchiveHandle *AH, const char *dbname);
 extern void IssueCommandPerBlob(ArchiveHandle *AH, TocEntry *te,
 								const char *cmdBegin, const char *cmdEnd);
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_tar.c b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_tar.c
index d94d0de2a5d..a3879410c94 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_tar.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_tar.c
@@ -984,31 +984,6 @@ tarPrintf(TAR_MEMBER *th, const char *fmt,...)
 	return (int) cnt;
 }
 
-bool
-isValidTarHeader(char *header)
-{
-	int			sum;
-	int			chk = tarChecksum(header);
-
-	sum = read_tar_number(&header[TAR_OFFSET_CHECKSUM], 8);
-
-	if (sum != chk)
-		return false;
-
-	/* POSIX tar format */
-	if (memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_MAGIC], "ustar\0", 6) == 0 &&
-		memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_VERSION], "00", 2) == 0)
-		return true;
-	/* GNU tar format */
-	if (memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_MAGIC], "ustar  \0", 8) == 0)
-		return true;
-	/* not-quite-POSIX format written by pre-9.3 pg_dump */
-	if (memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_MAGIC], "ustar00\0", 8) == 0)
-		return true;
-
-	return false;
-}
-
 /* Given the member, write the TAR header & copy the file */
 static void
 _tarAddFile(ArchiveHandle *AH, TAR_MEMBER *th)
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_verifybackup/astreamer_verify.c b/src/bin/pg_verifybackup/astreamer_verify.c
index 26c98186530..99bd69ce7c9 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_verifybackup/astreamer_verify.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_verifybackup/astreamer_verify.c
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ member_verify_header(astreamer *streamer, astreamer_member *member)
 	char		pathname[MAXPGPATH];
 
 	/* We are only interested in normal files. */
-	if (member->is_directory || member->is_link)
+	if (!member->is_regular)
 		return;
 
 	/*
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_waldump/archive_waldump.c b/src/bin/pg_waldump/archive_waldump.c
index ff1cc3fa5f0..e4a4bf44a7e 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_waldump/archive_waldump.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_waldump/archive_waldump.c
@@ -815,7 +815,7 @@ member_is_wal_file(astreamer_waldump *mystreamer, astreamer_member *member,
 	char	   *filename;
 
 	/* We are only interested in normal files */
-	if (member->is_directory || member->is_link)
+	if (!member->is_regular)
 		return false;
 
 	if (strlen(member->pathname) < XLOG_FNAME_LEN)
diff --git a/src/fe_utils/astreamer_file.c b/src/fe_utils/astreamer_file.c
index 158e9a14f2c..0fca70a4f86 100644
--- a/src/fe_utils/astreamer_file.c
+++ b/src/fe_utils/astreamer_file.c
@@ -228,9 +228,13 @@ astreamer_extractor_content(astreamer *streamer, astreamer_member *member,
 				mystreamer->filename[fnamelen - 1] = '\0';
 
 			/* Dispatch based on file type. */
-			if (member->is_directory)
+			if (member->is_regular)
+				mystreamer->file =
+					create_file_for_extract(mystreamer->filename,
+											member->mode);
+			else if (member->is_directory)
 				extract_directory(mystreamer->filename, member->mode);
-			else if (member->is_link)
+			else if (member->is_symlink)
 			{
 				const char *linktarget = member->linktarget;
 
@@ -238,10 +242,6 @@ astreamer_extractor_content(astreamer *streamer, astreamer_member *member,
 					linktarget = mystreamer->link_map(linktarget);
 				extract_link(mystreamer->filename, linktarget);
 			}
-			else
-				mystreamer->file =
-					create_file_for_extract(mystreamer->filename,
-											member->mode);
 
 			/* Report output file change. */
 			if (mystreamer->report_output_file)
diff --git a/src/fe_utils/astreamer_tar.c b/src/fe_utils/astreamer_tar.c
index 3b094fc0328..f584665057d 100644
--- a/src/fe_utils/astreamer_tar.c
+++ b/src/fe_utils/astreamer_tar.c
@@ -260,7 +260,8 @@ astreamer_tar_parser_content(astreamer *streamer, astreamer_member *member,
  * Parse a file header within a tar stream.
  *
  * The return value is true if we found a file header and passed it on to the
- * next astreamer; it is false if we have reached the archive trailer.
+ * next astreamer; it is false if we have found the archive trailer.
+ * We throw error if we see invalid data.
  */
 static bool
 astreamer_tar_header(astreamer_tar_parser *mystreamer)
@@ -272,6 +273,9 @@ astreamer_tar_header(astreamer_tar_parser *mystreamer)
 
 	Assert(mystreamer->base.bbs_buffer.len == TAR_BLOCK_SIZE);
 
+	/* Zero out fields of *member, just for consistency. */
+	memset(member, 0, sizeof(astreamer_member));
+
 	/* Check whether we've got a block of all zero bytes. */
 	for (i = 0; i < TAR_BLOCK_SIZE; ++i)
 	{
@@ -289,6 +293,12 @@ astreamer_tar_header(astreamer_tar_parser *mystreamer)
 	if (!has_nonzero_byte)
 		return false;
 
+	/*
+	 * Verify that we have a reasonable-looking header.
+	 */
+	if (!isValidTarHeader(buffer))
+		pg_fatal("input file does not appear to be a valid tar archive");
+
 	/*
 	 * Parse key fields out of the header.
 	 */
@@ -299,12 +309,28 @@ astreamer_tar_header(astreamer_tar_parser *mystreamer)
 	member->mode = read_tar_number(&buffer[TAR_OFFSET_MODE], 8);
 	member->uid = read_tar_number(&buffer[TAR_OFFSET_UID], 8);
 	member->gid = read_tar_number(&buffer[TAR_OFFSET_GID], 8);
-	member->is_directory =
-		(buffer[TAR_OFFSET_TYPEFLAG] == TAR_FILETYPE_DIRECTORY);
-	member->is_link =
-		(buffer[TAR_OFFSET_TYPEFLAG] == TAR_FILETYPE_SYMLINK);
-	if (member->is_link)
-		strlcpy(member->linktarget, &buffer[TAR_OFFSET_LINKNAME], 100);
+
+	switch (buffer[TAR_OFFSET_TYPEFLAG])
+	{
+		case TAR_FILETYPE_PLAIN:
+		case TAR_FILETYPE_PLAIN_OLD:
+			member->is_regular = true;
+			break;
+		case TAR_FILETYPE_DIRECTORY:
+			member->is_directory = true;
+			break;
+		case TAR_FILETYPE_SYMLINK:
+			member->is_symlink = true;
+			strlcpy(member->linktarget, &buffer[TAR_OFFSET_LINKNAME], 100);
+			break;
+		case TAR_FILETYPE_PAX_EXTENDED:
+		case TAR_FILETYPE_PAX_EXTENDED_GLOBAL:
+			pg_fatal("pax extensions to tar format are not supported");
+			break;
+		default:
+			/* For special filetypes, set none of the three is_xxx flags */
+			break;
+	}
 
 	/* Compute number of padding bytes. */
 	mystreamer->pad_bytes_expected = tarPaddingBytesRequired(member->size);
diff --git a/src/include/fe_utils/astreamer.h b/src/include/fe_utils/astreamer.h
index f370ef62720..8329e4efbc5 100644
--- a/src/include/fe_utils/astreamer.h
+++ b/src/include/fe_utils/astreamer.h
@@ -83,8 +83,10 @@ typedef struct
 	mode_t		mode;
 	uid_t		uid;
 	gid_t		gid;
+	/* note: special filetypes will set none of these flags */
+	bool		is_regular;
 	bool		is_directory;
-	bool		is_link;
+	bool		is_symlink;
 	char		linktarget[MAXPGPATH];
 } astreamer_member;
 
diff --git a/src/include/pgtar.h b/src/include/pgtar.h
index eb93bdef5c4..323ba051f8b 100644
--- a/src/include/pgtar.h
+++ b/src/include/pgtar.h
@@ -55,11 +55,15 @@ enum tarHeaderOffset
 	/* last 12 bytes of the 512-byte block are unassigned */
 };
 
+/* See POSIX (not all the standard file type codes are listed here) */
 enum tarFileType
 {
 	TAR_FILETYPE_PLAIN = '0',
+	TAR_FILETYPE_PLAIN_OLD = '\0',	/* backwards compatibility, per POSIX */
 	TAR_FILETYPE_SYMLINK = '2',
 	TAR_FILETYPE_DIRECTORY = '5',
+	TAR_FILETYPE_PAX_EXTENDED = 'x',
+	TAR_FILETYPE_PAX_EXTENDED_GLOBAL = 'g',
 };
 
 extern enum tarError tarCreateHeader(char *h, const char *filename,
@@ -68,7 +72,8 @@ extern enum tarError tarCreateHeader(char *h, const char *filename,
 									 time_t mtime);
 extern uint64 read_tar_number(const char *s, int len);
 extern void print_tar_number(char *s, int len, uint64 val);
-extern int	tarChecksum(char *header);
+extern int	tarChecksum(const char *header);
+extern bool isValidTarHeader(const char *header);
 
 /*
  * Compute the number of padding bytes required for an entry in a tar
diff --git a/src/port/tar.c b/src/port/tar.c
index 592b4fb7b0f..fee9dbbf5be 100644
--- a/src/port/tar.c
+++ b/src/port/tar.c
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ read_tar_number(const char *s, int len)
  * be 512 bytes, per the tar standard.
  */
 int
-tarChecksum(char *header)
+tarChecksum(const char *header)
 {
 	int			i,
 				sum;
@@ -95,15 +95,44 @@ tarChecksum(char *header)
 	/*
 	 * Per POSIX, the checksum is the simple sum of all bytes in the header,
 	 * treating the bytes as unsigned, and treating the checksum field (at
-	 * offset 148) as though it contained 8 spaces.
+	 * offset TAR_OFFSET_CHECKSUM) as though it contained 8 spaces.
 	 */
 	sum = 8 * ' ';				/* presumed value for checksum field */
-	for (i = 0; i < 512; i++)
-		if (i < 148 || i >= 156)
+	for (i = 0; i < TAR_BLOCK_SIZE; i++)
+		if (i < TAR_OFFSET_CHECKSUM || i >= TAR_OFFSET_CHECKSUM + 8)
 			sum += 0xFF & header[i];
 	return sum;
 }
 
+/*
+ * Check validity of a tar header (assumed to be 512 bytes long).
+ * We verify the checksum and the magic number / version.
+ */
+bool
+isValidTarHeader(const char *header)
+{
+	int			sum;
+	int			chk = tarChecksum(header);
+
+	sum = read_tar_number(&header[TAR_OFFSET_CHECKSUM], 8);
+
+	if (sum != chk)
+		return false;
+
+	/* POSIX tar format */
+	if (memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_MAGIC], "ustar\0", 6) == 0 &&
+		memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_VERSION], "00", 2) == 0)
+		return true;
+	/* GNU tar format */
+	if (memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_MAGIC], "ustar  \0", 8) == 0)
+		return true;
+	/* not-quite-POSIX format written by pre-9.3 pg_dump */
+	if (memcmp(&header[TAR_OFFSET_MAGIC], "ustar00\0", 8) == 0)
+		return true;
+
+	return false;
+}
+
 
 /*
  * Fill in the buffer pointed to by h with a tar format header. This buffer