GHSA-gwm6-q8ch-hcfr
install -D: symlink race in directory creation allows arbitrary file overwrite
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| crates.io | uu_install | < 0.7.0 | 0.7.0 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
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._
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-gwm6-q8ch-hcfr
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35356
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/10140
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/commit/0c41299975f3c1e21cf5ca968d42cad55ceb42a1
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.7.0