{"id":"GHSA-fqf6-gxhh-2xhw","aliases":[],"status":"published","title":"uutils coreutils: cp/install/mv/ln --suffix alone does not enable backup mode (silent data loss vs GNU)","description":"`determine_backup_mode` in `src/uucore/src/lib/features/backup_control.rs` only checks `--backup`/`-b` and returns `BackupMode::None` when only `--suffix` is given. GNU enables backup mode when `--suffix` is used alone (defaulting to existing/numbered, or `$VERSION_CONTROL`). Affects `cp`, `install`, `mv`, `ln` which share this code.\n\n```\n# uutils: no backup created\n$ coreutils cp --suffix=.bak src dest      # dest.bak NOT created\n# GNU: dest.bak created\n$ cp --suffix=.bak src dest\n```\n\n**Impact:** users/scripts relying on `--suffix` to back up a file before overwrite get silent data loss; breaks GNU compatibility across four utilities. Recommendation: enable backup mode when `--suffix` is present.\n\n_Note: this is primarily a GNU-compatibility/data-safety divergence rather than a classic exploitable vulnerability — review whether it warrants a CVE._\n\n**Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in PR #9741 (`uucore: use --suffix to enable backup mode`), commit `939ab037a`, merged 2025-12-21. `determine_backup_mode` now has a `--suffix`-alone branch that resolves the mode from `$VERSION_CONTROL` (defaulting to `existing`). Released in **uucore 0.6.0** and later (vulnerable: `\u003c 0.6.0`). Regression tests added in the same file: `test_backup_mode_suffix_without_backup_option` and `test_backup_mode_suffix_without_backup_option_with_env_var`.\n\n---\n_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.7. Credit: Zellic._","severity":{"version":"4.0","score":7,"vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N","level":"high","from":"ghsa"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-440","CWE-693"],"published":"2026-07-07T19:36:17Z","modified":"2026-07-07T19:45:19Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"crates.io","package":"uucore","fixed_in":["0.6.0"],"sources":["ghsa","osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"ghsa","ecosystem":"crates.io","package":"uucore","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.6.0"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"crates.io","package":"uucore","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.6.0"}]}]}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-fqf6-gxhh-2xhw","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/9741","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-fqf6-gxhh-2xhw"},{"url":"https://github.com/uutils/coreutils","tags":["package"]}],"sources":{"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-fqf6-gxhh-2xhw","title":"uutils coreutils: cp/install/mv/ln --suffix alone does not enable backup mode (silent data loss vs GNU)","description":"`determine_backup_mode` in `src/uucore/src/lib/features/backup_control.rs` only checks `--backup`/`-b` and returns `BackupMode::None` when only `--suffix` is given. GNU enables backup mode when `--suffix` is used alone (defaulting to existing/numbered, or `$VERSION_CONTROL`). Affects `cp`, `install`, `mv`, `ln` which share this code.\n\n```\n# uutils: no backup created\n$ coreutils cp --suffix=.bak src dest      # dest.bak NOT created\n# GNU: dest.bak created\n$ cp --suffix=.bak src dest\n```\n\n**Impact:** users/scripts relying on `--suffix` to back up a file before overwrite get silent data loss; breaks GNU compatibility across four utilities. Recommendation: enable backup mode when `--suffix` is present.\n\n_Note: this is primarily a GNU-compatibility/data-safety divergence rather than a classic exploitable vulnerability — review whether it warrants a CVE._\n\n**Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in PR #9741 (`uucore: use --suffix to enable backup mode`), commit `939ab037a`, merged 2025-12-21. `determine_backup_mode` now has a `--suffix`-alone branch that resolves the mode from `$VERSION_CONTROL` (defaulting to `existing`). Released in **uucore 0.6.0** and later (vulnerable: `\u003c 0.6.0`). Regression tests added in the same file: `test_backup_mode_suffix_without_backup_option` and `test_backup_mode_suffix_without_backup_option_with_env_var`.\n\n---\n_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.7. Credit: Zellic._","status":"published","published":"2026-07-07T19:36:17Z","modified":"2026-07-07T19:36:18Z","cvss":[{"version":"4.0","score":7,"vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-440","CWE-693"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:40:40.389795Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"GHSA-fqf6-gxhh-2xhw","title":"uutils coreutils: cp/install/mv/ln --suffix alone does not enable backup mode (silent data loss vs GNU)","description":"`determine_backup_mode` in `src/uucore/src/lib/features/backup_control.rs` only checks `--backup`/`-b` and returns `BackupMode::None` when only `--suffix` is given. GNU enables backup mode when `--suffix` is used alone (defaulting to existing/numbered, or `$VERSION_CONTROL`). Affects `cp`, `install`, `mv`, `ln` which share this code.\n\n```\n# uutils: no backup created\n$ coreutils cp --suffix=.bak src dest      # dest.bak NOT created\n# GNU: dest.bak created\n$ cp --suffix=.bak src dest\n```\n\n**Impact:** users/scripts relying on `--suffix` to back up a file before overwrite get silent data loss; breaks GNU compatibility across four utilities. Recommendation: enable backup mode when `--suffix` is present.\n\n_Note: this is primarily a GNU-compatibility/data-safety divergence rather than a classic exploitable vulnerability — review whether it warrants a CVE._\n\n**Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in PR #9741 (`uucore: use --suffix to enable backup mode`), commit `939ab037a`, merged 2025-12-21. `determine_backup_mode` now has a `--suffix`-alone branch that resolves the mode from `$VERSION_CONTROL` (defaulting to `existing`). Released in **uucore 0.6.0** and later (vulnerable: `\u003c 0.6.0`). Regression tests added in the same file: `test_backup_mode_suffix_without_backup_option` and `test_backup_mode_suffix_without_backup_option_with_env_var`.\n\n---\n_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.7. Credit: Zellic._","status":"published","published":"2026-07-07T19:36:17Z","modified":"2026-07-07T19:45:19.17221786Z","cvss":[{"version":"4.0","score":7,"vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-440","CWE-693"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:46.760785Z"}]}}