CVE-2026-35339 uutils coreutils chmod False Success Exit Code in Recursive Mode

What is CVE-2026-35339?

CVE-2026-35339 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Uutils coreutils, published on 22 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The recursive mode (-R) of the chmod utility in uutils coreutils incorrectly handles exit codes when processing multiple files. The final return value is determined solely by the success or failure of the last file processed. This allows the command to return an exit code of 0 (success) even if errors were encountered on previous files, such as 'Operation not permitted'. Scripts relying on these exit codes may proceed under a false sense of success while sensitive files remain with restrictive or incorrect permissions.

Weakness: CWE-253

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-35339?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including uu_chmod. It affects 1 product.

Products include Uutils Coreutils.

How do I fix CVE-2026-35339?

Upgrade uu_chmod to 0.6.0 or later.

Is CVE-2026-35339 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-35339 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Uutils coreutils

• CVE-2026-35338 uutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root High 7.3
• CVE-2026-35368 uutils coreutils chroot Local Privilege Escalation and chroot Escape in via Name Service Switch (NSS) Injection High 7.2
• CVE-2026-35341 uutils coreutils mkfifo Unauthorized Permission Change on Existing Files High 7.1
• CVE-2026-35352 uutils coreutils mkfifo Privilege Escalation via TOCTOU Race Condition High 7.0
• CVE-2026-35349 uutils coreutils Path-Based Safety Bypass with --preserve-root Medium 6.7

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-35339, GHSA-4x34-chg5-mwjj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-35339.