{"id":"CVE-2026-35338","aliases":["DEBIAN-CVE-2026-35338","EUVD-2026-24963","GHSA-4c7q-4928-8445","GHSA-9gqx-53gp-c8g3","UBUNTU-CVE-2026-35338"],"status":"published","title":"uutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root","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.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"cna","from":"cve"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-09","score":0.00175,"percentile":0.07035,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-22","CWE-59"],"published":"2026-04-22T16:07:31Z","modified":"2026-10-28T02:30:58Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"crates.io","package":"uu_chmod","fixed_in":["0.6.0"],"sources":["ghsa","osv"]},{"ecosystem":"Debian:14","package":"rust-coreutils","fixed_in":["0.6.0-1"],"sources":["osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"ghsa","ecosystem":"crates.io","package":"uu_chmod","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.6.0"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Debian:12","package":"rust-coreutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["0.0.17-2","0.0.17-3","0.0.17-4","0.0.17-5","0.0.17-6","0.0.19-1","0.0.19-2","0.0.19-3","0.0.20-1","0.0.21-1","0.0.22-1","0.0.23-1","0.0.23-2","0.0.23-3","0.0.24-1","0.0.24-2","0.0.26-1","0.0.26-2","0.0.26-3","0.0.26-4","0.0.26-5","0.0.27-1","0.0.27-2","0.0.27-3","0.0.30-1","0.0.30-2","0.0.30-3","0.0.30-3~exp1","0.0.30-4","0.10.0-1","0.11.0-1","0.11.0-2","0.12.0-1","0.6.0-1","0.7.0-1","0.8.0-1","0.8.0-2","0.8.0-3","0.8.0-4","0.8.0-5","0.8.0-6","0.9.0-1","0.9.0-2","0.9.0-3"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Debian:13","package":"rust-coreutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["0.0.30-2","0.0.30-3","0.0.30-3~exp1","0.0.30-4","0.10.0-1","0.11.0-1","0.11.0-2","0.12.0-1","0.6.0-1","0.7.0-1","0.8.0-1","0.8.0-2","0.8.0-3","0.8.0-4","0.8.0-5","0.8.0-6","0.9.0-1","0.9.0-2","0.9.0-3"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Debian:14","package":"rust-coreutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.6.0-1"}]}],"versions":["0.0.30-2","0.0.30-3","0.0.30-3~exp1","0.0.30-4"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"crates.io","package":"uu_chmod","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.6.0"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","package":"rust-coreutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["0.0.20-1","0.0.22-1","0.0.23-1","0.0.23-2","0.0.23-3","0.0.24-1","0.0.24-2"]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:25.10","package":"rust-coreutils","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["0.0.30-1","0.0.30-2","0.0.30-2ubuntu2","0.1.0-0ubuntu1","0.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu1","0.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu2","0.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu3","0.1.0+git20250711.2ba3a33-0ubuntu4","0.1.0+git20250801.cf79675-0ubuntu1","0.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu2","0.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu4","0.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu6","0.1.0+git20250813.4af2a84-0ubuntu7","0.2.2-0ubuntu1","0.2.2-0ubuntu2","0.2.2-0ubuntu2.1"]}],"products":[{"vendor":"uutils","product":"coreutils"}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/10033","tags":["patch","issue-tracking","Issue Tracking","Patch","fix","web","report"]},{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.6.0","tags":["vendor-advisory","Release Notes","advisory","web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-4c7q-4928-8445","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35338","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/commit/413055b378fa6fe2299c5e5f538c8e6e841ab810","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-4c7q-4928-8445"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9gqx-53gp-c8g3"},{"url":"https://github.com/uutils","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/35xxx/CVE-2026-35338.json","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils","tags":["package"]},{"url":"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-35338","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-35338","tags":["report"]},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-35338","tags":["report"]}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2026-35338","title":"uutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root","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.","status":"published","published":"2026-04-22T16:07:31.316Z","modified":"2026-04-24T03:55:21.897Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"cna"}],"cwes":["CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:20:05.15083Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2026-24963","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.","status":"published","published":"2026-04-22T16:07:31Z","modified":"2026-04-24T03:55:21Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T19:24:18.636842Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-4c7q-4928-8445","title":"chmod: --preserve-root bypassed by any path that resolves to root (e.g. /../)","description":"`Chmoder::chmod()` only compares the literal argument against `Path::new(\"/\")`, so the `--preserve-root` guard is bypassed by any path that *resolves* to root — a symlink to `/` or simply `/../`.\n\n```\nif self.recursive \u0026\u0026 self.preserve_root \u0026\u0026 file == Path::new(\"/\") {\n    return Err(ChmodError::PreserveRoot(\"/\".to_string()).into());\n}\n```\n\n**PoC** — recursively chmods the entire filesystem to `000` despite `--preserve-root`:\n\n```\nchmod -R --preserve-root 000 /../ -v\n```\n\n**Impact:** `--preserve-root` is the documented safeguard against destructive recursive operations on `/`. Bypassing it allows `chmod -R` to alter permissions across the whole filesystem, causing a complete system breakdown. Recommendation: canonicalize the target path before comparing against root.\n\n**Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit 413055b3.\n\n---\n_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.1. Credit: Zellic._","status":"published","published":"2026-07-06T17:41:45Z","modified":"2026-07-06T17:41:45Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-22","CWE-59"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:40:39.314643Z"},{"id":"GHSA-9gqx-53gp-c8g3","title":"Duplicate Advisory: uutils coreutils allows users to bypass the --preserve-root safety mechanism","description":"### Duplicate Advisory\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-4c7q-4928-8445. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n### Original Description\nA 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.","status":"withdrawn","published":"2026-04-22T18:31:44Z","modified":"2026-07-06T17:41:39Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:40:39.314643Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2026-35338","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.","status":"published","published":"2026-04-22T17:16:35.583Z","modified":"2026-10-26T21:10:00.17Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"secondary"}],"cwes":["CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:12:15.493943Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"CVE-2026-35338","title":"uutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root","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.","status":"published","published":"2026-04-22T16:07:31.316Z","modified":"2026-10-28T02:30:58.70922669Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:45:02.673625Z"},{"id":"DEBIAN-CVE-2026-35338","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.","status":"published","published":"2026-04-22T17:16:35.583Z","modified":"2026-10-27T09:47:40.853955618Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:45:54.587575Z"},{"id":"GHSA-4c7q-4928-8445","title":"chmod: --preserve-root bypassed by any path that resolves to root (e.g. /../)","description":"`Chmoder::chmod()` only compares the literal argument against `Path::new(\"/\")`, so the `--preserve-root` guard is bypassed by any path that *resolves* to root — a symlink to `/` or simply `/../`.\n\n```\nif self.recursive \u0026\u0026 self.preserve_root \u0026\u0026 file == Path::new(\"/\") {\n    return Err(ChmodError::PreserveRoot(\"/\".to_string()).into());\n}\n```\n\n**PoC** — recursively chmods the entire filesystem to `000` despite `--preserve-root`:\n\n```\nchmod -R --preserve-root 000 /../ -v\n```\n\n**Impact:** `--preserve-root` is the documented safeguard against destructive recursive operations on `/`. Bypassing it allows `chmod -R` to alter permissions across the whole filesystem, causing a complete system breakdown. Recommendation: canonicalize the target path before comparing against root.\n\n**Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit 413055b3.\n\n---\n_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.1. Credit: Zellic._","status":"published","published":"2026-07-06T17:41:45Z","modified":"2026-07-06T17:56:19.992916Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-22","CWE-59"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:36.782754Z"},{"id":"GHSA-9gqx-53gp-c8g3","title":"Duplicate Advisory: uutils coreutils allows users to bypass the --preserve-root safety mechanism","description":"### Duplicate Advisory\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-4c7q-4928-8445. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n### Original Description\nA 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.","status":"withdrawn","published":"2026-04-22T18:31:44Z","modified":"2026-09-10T03:51:01.391758643Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-22"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:43.875515Z"},{"id":"UBUNTU-CVE-2026-35338","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.","status":"published","published":"2026-04-22T17:16:00Z","modified":"2026-05-14T14:41:05.295578Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T16:56:16.686388Z"}]}}