CVE-2026-35338

April 22, 2026, 9:23 p.m.

7.3
High

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.

Product(s) Impacted

Vendor Product Versions
Uutils
  • Coreutils
  • *

Weaknesses

Common security weaknesses mapped to this vulnerability.

CWE-22
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

*CPE(s)

Affected systems and software identified for this CVE.

Type Vendor Product Version Update Edition Language Software Edition Target Software Target Hardware Other Information
a uutils coreutils / / / / / / / /

CVSS Score

7.3 / 10

CVSS Data - 3.1

  • Attack Vector: LOCAL
  • Attack Complexity: LOW
  • Privileges Required: LOW
  • Scope: UNCHANGED
  • Confidentiality Impact: HIGH
  • Integrity Impact: HIGH
  • Availability Impact: HIGH
  • CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

    View Vector String

Timeline

Published: April 22, 2026, 5:16 p.m.
Last Modified: April 22, 2026, 9:23 p.m.

Status : Undergoing Analysis

CVE has been recently published to the CVE List and has been received by the NVD.

More info

*Disclaimer: Some vulnerabilities do not have an associated CPE. To enhance the data, we use AI to infer CPEs based on CVE details. This is an automated process and might not always be accurate.