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CVE-2026-35372

uutils coreutils ln Security Bypass via Improper Handling of the --no-dereference Flag

5.0 MediumFix available

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
Required

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Exploit likelihood

0.14%Up 0.1 points since Apr 23, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 5.0

uutils coreutils ln Security Bypass via Improper Handling of the --no-dereference Flag

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
CVE-2026-35372
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-61
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-25020 5.0

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
EUVD-2026-25020
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-wq63-vh5h-pr5p 5.0

uutils coreutils has a UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following issue

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
GHSA-wq63-vh5h-pr5p
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-61
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 5.0

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
CVE-2026-35372
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-61
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 5.0

uutils coreutils ln Security Bypass via Improper Handling of the --no-dereference Flag

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
CVE-2026-35372
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-61
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-35372 5.0

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-35372
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-wq63-vh5h-pr5p 5.0

uutils coreutils has a UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following issue

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
GHSA-wq63-vh5h-pr5p
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness
CWE-61
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-35372 5.0

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-35372
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
coreutils
crates.io
before 0.8.0
0.8.0
rust-coreutils
Debian:12
All versions, plus listed versions
0.0.17-20.0.17-30.0.17-40.0.17-50.0.17-6
Show 39 moreShow less
0.0.19-10.0.19-20.0.19-30.0.20-10.0.21-10.0.22-10.0.23-10.0.23-20.0.23-30.0.24-10.0.24-20.0.26-10.0.26-20.0.26-30.0.26-40.0.26-50.0.27-10.0.27-20.0.27-30.0.30-10.0.30-20.0.30-30.0.30-3~exp10.0.30-40.10.0-10.11.0-10.11.0-20.12.0-10.6.0-10.7.0-10.8.0-10.8.0-20.8.0-30.8.0-40.8.0-50.8.0-60.9.0-10.9.0-20.9.0-3
None known
rust-coreutils
Debian:13
All versions, plus listed versions
0.0.30-20.0.30-30.0.30-3~exp10.0.30-40.10.0-1
Show 14 moreShow less
0.11.0-10.11.0-20.12.0-10.6.0-10.7.0-10.8.0-10.8.0-20.8.0-30.8.0-40.8.0-50.8.0-60.9.0-10.9.0-20.9.0-3
None known
rust-coreutils
Debian:14
before 0.8.0-1, plus listed versions
0.0.30-20.0.30-30.0.30-3~exp10.0.30-40.6.0-10.7.0-1
0.8.0-1
rust-coreutils
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
0.0.20-10.0.22-10.0.23-10.0.23-20.0.23-30.0.24-10.0.24-2
None known
rust-coreutils
Ubuntu:25.10
All versions, plus listed versions
0.0.30-10.0.30-20.0.30-2ubuntu20.1.0-0ubuntu10.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu1
Show 11 moreShow less
0.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu20.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu30.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu40.1.0+git20250801.cf79675-0ubuntu10.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu20.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu40.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu60.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu70.2.2-0ubuntu10.2.2-0ubuntu20.2.2-0ubuntu2.1
None known

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-35372 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.0) in Uutils Coreutils, published April 22, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.14%, the 3rd percentile. Fixed in coreutils 0.8.0.

References

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