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.
Published: 2026-04-22
Score: 7.3 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: System-wide Permission Loss
Action: Apply Patch
AI Analysis

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-9gqx-53gp-c8g3 uutils coreutils allows users to bypass the --preserve-root safety mechanism
History

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Uutils
Uutils coreutils
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:uutils:coreutils:*:*:*:*:*:rust:*:*
Vendors & Products Uutils
Uutils coreutils

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 19:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
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.
Title uutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root
Weaknesses CWE-22
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Uutils Coreutils
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: canonical

Published:

Updated: 2026-04-24T03:55:21.897Z

Reserved: 2026-04-02T12:58:56.086Z

Link: CVE-2026-35338

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-04-22T18:10:09.316Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-04-22T17:16:35.583

Modified: 2026-04-27T12:28:50.307

Link: CVE-2026-35338

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-27T19:54:50Z

Weaknesses