uutils coreutils chcon Security Bypass and Mandatory Access Control (MAC) Inconsistency via TOCTOU Race Condition
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · High · Low
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and GitHub.
Summary
A Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability exists in the chcon utility of uutils coreutils during recursive operations. The implementation resolves recursive targets using a fresh path lookup (via fts_accpath) rather than binding the traversal and label application to the specific directory state encountered during traversal. Because these operations are not anchored to file descriptors, a local attacker with write access to a directory tree can exploit timing-sensitive rename or symbolic link races to redirect a privileged recursive relabeling operation to unintended files or directories. This vulnerability breaks the hardening expectations for SELinux administration workflows and can lead to the unauthorized modification of security labels on sensitive system objects.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uutils | coreutils | before 0.8.0 | 0.8.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | coreutils (crates.io) | up to 0.8.0 | — | No fix listed | GHSA-6g8r-74qp-6859 |
- coreutils VendorUutils Affected before 0.8.0 Fixed in 0.8.0 Patch available CNA
- coreutils (crates.io) Vendor— Affected up to 0.8.0 Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-6g8r-74qp-6859
Remediation
- Fix · CNA coreutils (Uutils) Fixed in 0.8.0
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Advisory ·
Uutils coreutils — github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.8.0
7 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 3 MEDIUM, 4 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-27517 uutils coreutils tr Local Logic Error and Data Integrity Issue in Character Class HandlingPriority MEDIUM 49
- TI-2026-27516 uutils coreutils expr Local Denial of Service via Eager Evaluation of Parenthesized SubexpressionsPriority MEDIUM 49
- TI-2026-27513 uutils coreutils split Local Data Integrity Issue via Lossy Filename EncodingPriority MEDIUM 49
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-35376
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6g8r-74qp-6859
References
More Uutils Coreutils vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-27506 uutils coreutils chroot Local Privilege Escalation and chroot Escape in via Name Service Switch (NSS) Injection CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.2
- TI-2026-27498 uutils coreutils touch Arbitrary File Truncation via TOCTOU Race Condition CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.3
- TI-2026-27488 uutils coreutils cp Unexpected Privileged Executable Creation with -p CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.6
- TI-2026-27502 uutils coreutils mv Arbitrary File Overwrite via Cross-Device TOCTOU Race Condition CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.3
- TI-2026-27493 uutils coreutils install Arbitrary File Overwrite via Symlink TOCTOU Race CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.3
- TI-2026-27511 uutils coreutils ln Local Denial of Service via Improper Handling of Non-UTF-8 Filenames CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-35376 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-35376 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6g8r-74qp-6859 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-35376 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences