Duplicate Advisory: uutils coreutils has a Link Following Issue Via rm Utility

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Description

Duplicate Advisory

This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-7cr3-h577-g38j. This link is maintained to preserve external references.

Original Description

A vulnerability in the rm utility of uutils coreutils allows a bypass of the --preserve-root protection. The implementation uses a path-string check rather than comparing device and inode numbers to identify the root directory. An attacker or accidental user can bypass this safeguard by using a symbolic link that resolves to the root directory (e.g., /tmp/rootlink -> /), potentially leading to the unintended recursive deletion of the entire root filesystem.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
—
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2026-04-22 18:31:45 UTC
Updated
2026-07-06 20:15:21 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2026-04-29 23:13:17 UTC
NVD published
2026-04-22
Withdrawn
2026-07-06 20:15:20 UTC

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
6.7 3.1 —
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
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:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-v762-x3cf-5mfg ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
rust coreutils < 0.7.0 0.7.0 —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence