CVE-2026-35338
HIGHuutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root
Title source: cnaDescription
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.
Scores
CVSS v3
7.3
EPSS
0.0001
EPSS Percentile
1.1%
Attack Vector
LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA SSVC
Vulnrichment
Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical Impact
total
Details
CWE
CWE-22
Status
published
Products (2)
Uutils/coreutils
< 0.6.0
uutils/coreutils
< 0.6.0
Published
Apr 22, 2026
Tracked Since
Apr 22, 2026