chmod Bypass Threatens System Integrity: CVE-2026-35338 Detailed

The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) has identified CVE-2026-35338, a critical vulnerability within the chmod utility of uutils coreutils. This flaw allows local attackers with low privileges to bypass the –preserve-root safety mechanism. The issue stems from inadequate path validation; the utility fails to canonicalize paths, meaning it treats variations like /../ or symbolic links as distinct from the root directory /. This oversight enables an attacker to execute potentially destructive recursive operations, such as chmod -R 000, against the entire filesystem, leading to widespread permission loss and system instability.

This vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 7.3 (HIGH) and falls under CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory). While specific affected products are not detailed by NVD, any system utilizing this version of uutils coreutils is at risk. The attack vector is local, requiring UI:R (User Interaction) which could be as simple as tricking a user into running a malicious command. The potential impact is severe, with C:H/I:H/A:H indicating high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts, effectively granting attackers full control over system permissions.