CVE-2026-35338

The record

A vulnerability in the chmod utility of uutils coreutils allows users to bypass the --preserve-root safety mechanism. The implementation only validates if the target path is literally / and does not canonicalize the path. An attacker or accidental user can use path variants such as /../ or symbolic links to execute destructive recursive operations (e.g., chmod -R 000) on the entire root filesystem, leading to system-wide permission loss and potential complete system breakdown.

Affected packages

Related vulnerabilities

• GHSA-9gqx-53gp-c8g3 uutils coreutils allows users to bypass the --preserve-root safety mechanism Same vulnerability
• GHSA-532v-xp3f-837c uutils coreutils has an Incorrect Provision of Specified Functionality Issue in its cut… Also affects coreutils
• GHSA-6g8r-74qp-6859 uutils coreutils has a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition Also affects coreutils
• GHSA-53gr-wmf4-8hh3 uutils coreutils's User Interface (UI) Misrepresents Critical Information Also affects coreutils
• GHSA-5pv5-xh52-hvrp uutils coreutils has an Incorrect Short Circuit Evaluation Issue Also affects coreutils
• GHSA-5v4g-vw9x-h534 uutils coreutils has an Improper Input Validation Issue in its env Utility Also affects coreutils
• GHSA-4wrp-79m8-9m9p uutils coreutils has a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition Also affects coreutils
• GHSA-fhr3-xh3q-69w6 uutils coreutils has an Incorrect Provision of Specified Functionality Issue Also affects coreutils