CVE-2026-35372 | uutils coreutils ln Security Bypass via Improper Handling of the --no-dereference Flag

A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the "no-dereference" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.

Published: 2026-04-22 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-35372 is rated Low Risk (21.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.14%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-35372

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.02% 0.14% +0.12%
2 2026-04-23 — 0.02% —

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-35372

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.0 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.3 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-35372

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-35372

GHSA-wq63-vh5h-pr5p · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: rust — uutils coreutils has a UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following issue

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-35372

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-35372 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (rust-coreutils), 4 status rows across 4 suites (bookworm, forky, sid, trixie): open 2, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-35372
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-35372 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (rust-coreutils), 5 status rows across 5 suites (jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream): needed 2, DNE 1, not-affected 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-35372

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-35372

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
uutils coreutils < 0.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:uutils:coreutils:*:*:*:*:*:rust:*:*

References for CVE-2026-35372

cvelogic Threat Intelligence