CVE-2026-35349
A vulnerability in the rm utility of uutils coreutils allows a bypass of the --preserve-root protection.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.18%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
A vulnerability in the rm utility of uutils coreutils allows a bypass of the --preserve-root protection. The implementation uses a path-string check rather than comparing device and inode numbers to identify the root directory. An attacker or accidental user can bypass this safeguard by using a symbolic link that resolves to the root directory (e.g., /tmp/rootlink -> /), potentially leading to the unintended recursive deletion of the entire root filesystem.
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.18% probability · 8th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-59
- Affected
- uutils/coreutils
- Source
- security@ubuntu.com
References
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/9706Issue Tracking, Patch
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.7.0Release Notes
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.