CVE-2026-35349
Uutils Coreutils ≤ 0.7.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-35349 is a medium-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Uutils Coreutils. Its CVSS base score is 6.7 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-35349 is a vulnerability in the rm utility of uutils coreutils that allows bypassing the --preserve-root protection mechanism. Instead of comparing device and inode numbers to identify the root directory, the implementation relies on a path-string check, enabling attackers or accidental users to circumvent this safeguard using a symbolic link that resolves to the root directory, such as /tmp/rootlink -> /. This flaw, classified under CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.7 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H) and was published on 2026-04-22.
Local attackers with no privileges can exploit this vulnerability through a high-complexity attack requiring no user interaction. By crafting a symlink pointing to / and invoking rm with the --preserve-root option on a path involving that link (e.g., rm -rf /tmp/rootlink), the utility fails to recognize the true root destination, potentially resulting in the recursive deletion of the entire root filesystem and causing significant integrity and availability impacts.
Mitigation is addressed in the uutils coreutils GitHub repository via pull request #9706, which fixes the path-string check issue, and is included in the 0.7.0 release available at https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.7.0. Security practitioners using uutils coreutils should update to version 0.7.0 or later to patch this vulnerability.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-24981
Vulnerability Data
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…
more
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.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V15.4.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Proper enforcement of access authorizations on the resolved target resource stops a link from reaching an unintended object.
Least-privilege limits the damage an attacker can cause after following an unintended link.
Validating file-name inputs can reject or canonicalize names that resolve to links before access occurs.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect link-following flaws before release.
Secure SDLC practices can mandate link-resolution checks and canonicalization before file access.
Application security requirements can explicitly require safe handling of symbolic links and path traversal.
Secure architecture principles include input validation and safe file-access design patterns.
Secure coding standards directly address canonicalization and symlink attacks during implementation.
Access-control rules can limit which files are reachable, reducing exposure to malicious links.