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Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-35338 · published 22 April 2026

CVE-2026-35338: Uutils coreutils path traversal vulnerability

UUutils · Coreutils

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.

7.3 CVSS 3.1 High EPSS 0.20% · top 91.2% CWE-22 · Path traversal
7.3CVSS 3.1 base score
0.20%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
2References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

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.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

7.8CVE-2026-35368Uutils coreutils untrusted search path vulnerabilityA vulnerability exists in the chroot utility of uutils coreutils when using the --userspec option. The utility resolves the user specification via ge…EPSS 0.15%7.7CVE-2026-35349Uutils coreutils link following vulnerabilityA vulnerability in the rm utility of uutils coreutils allows a bypass of the --preserve-root protection. The implementation uses a path-string check …EPSS 0.21%7.1CVE-2026-35341Uutils coreutils incorrect permission assignment vulnerabilityA vulnerability in uutils coreutils mkfifo allows for the unauthorized modification of permissions on existing files. When mkfifo fails to create a F…EPSS 0.14%7.0CVE-2026-35352Uutils coreutils toctou race condition vulnerabilityA Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition exists in the mkfifo utility of uutils coreutils. The utility creates a FIFO and then performs…EPSS 0.12%6.6CVE-2026-35365Uutils coreutils link following vulnerabilityThe mv utility in uutils coreutils improperly handles directory trees containing symbolic links during moves across filesystem boundaries. Instead of…EPSS 0.19%6.6CVE-2026-35350Uutils coreutils vulnerabilityThe cp utility in uutils coreutils fails to properly handle setuid and setgid bits when ownership preservation fails. When copying with the -p (prese…EPSS 0.13%6.3CVE-2026-35374Uutils coreutils toctou race condition vulnerabilityA Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability exists in the split utility of uutils coreutils. The program attempts to prevent data loss by c…EPSS 0.09%6.3CVE-2026-35364Uutils coreutils toctou race condition vulnerabilityA Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition exists in the mv utility of uutils coreutils during cross-device operations. The utility remov…EPSS 0.10%

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-35338), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.