CVE-2026-35338 HIGH

CVE-2026-35338: uutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root

Vendor Uutils
Product coreutils
Weakness CWE-22 · Path traversal
Published April 22, 2026
Last update April 24, 2026

CVSS base score

7.3/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required Low
User interaction Required
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

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.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

April 22, 2026 CVE published
April 24, 2026 Record updated