# CVE-2026-35352: uutils coreutils mkfifo Privilege Escalation via TOCTOU Race Condition

> A local attacker can exploit a race condition in mkfifo to escalate privileges by swapping a FIFO with a symlink during permission setting.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 4 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-35352, GHSA-9gh9-hwpr-rvqq, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-35352

## What is CVE-2026-35352?

CVE-2026-35352 is a high-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

A Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition exists in the mkfifo utility of uutils coreutils. The utility creates a FIFO and then performs a path-based chmod to set permissions. A local attacker with write access to the parent directory can swap the newly created FIFO for a symbolic link between these two operations. This redirects the chmod call to an arbitrary file, potentially enabling privilege escalation if the utility is run with elevated privileges.

Weakness: CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-35352?

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


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `coreutils` | crates.io | All versions to 0.8.0 | None |
| `coreutils` | crates.io | All versions to 0.8.0 | None |

Products: Uutils Coreutils.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-35352?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-35352 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-35352 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Uutils coreutils

- [CVE-2026-35338](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35338/): uutils coreutils chmod Path Traversal Bypass of --preserve-root (high 7.3)
- [CVE-2026-35368](https://insights.sbomify.com/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](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35341/): uutils coreutils mkfifo Unauthorized Permission Change on Existing Files (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2026-35349](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35349/): uutils coreutils Path-Based Safety Bypass with --preserve-root (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2026-35350](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35350/): uutils coreutils cp Unexpected Privileged Executable Creation with -p (medium 6.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-35352 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-35352 is a high-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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-35352 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- coreutils (crates.io): affected all versions up to 0.8.0; no fix listed
- coreutils (crates.io): affected all versions up to 0.8.0; no fix listed

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35352/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35352/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-35352
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35352
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-35352

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35352/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.