install -D: symlink race in directory creation allows arbitrary file overwrite
The `-D` path runs `fs::create_dir_all` on a pathname then later opens the destination via path-based `File::create`/`fs::copy`, neither anchored to a directory fd. Between the two, an attacker can replace a path component with a symlink, redirecting the write. **Impact:** an attacker with concurrent write access to the destination tree can redirect a privileged `install -D` to an arbitrary location, enabling arbitrary file overwrite with attacker-controlled content. Recommendation: use dirfd-based traversal (`openat`/`mkdirat` + `O_NOFOLLOW`) per component and create the destination via `openat` on the same dirfd. **Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit 0c412999. --- _Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.51. Credit: Zellic._
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-35356US | — | — | ||
A Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability exists in the install utility of uutils coreutils when using the -D flag. The command creates parent directories and subsequen… | ||||
references
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutilsPACKAGE
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/commit/0c41299975f3c1e21cf5ca968d42cad55ceb42a1WEB
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/10140WEB
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.7.0WEB
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-gwm6-q8ch-hcfrWEB
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35356ADVISORY
Advisories like this name the exposed products attackers go after on your perimeter. See what is exposed on your perimeter with a free passive scan.
Free scan