GitHub Advisoryadvisory · crates.io
GHSA-239g-2685-54x3 install: TOCTOU symlink race (unlink-then-create without O_EXCL) allows arbitrary file overwrite
MEDIUM
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-35355
- Ecosystem
- crates.io
- Packages
- uu_install
- Severity
- Moderate
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
- Weaknesses
- CWE-367, CWE-59
- Reviewed
- 2026-07-06
Affected packages
• crates.io uu_install: < 0.6.0 → fixed in 0.6.0
Description
`copy_file` in `install/src/install.rs` removes the destination then recreates it by pathname via `File::create` / `fs::copy` without `O_EXCL`/`create_new`. Between the unlink and the recreate, a local attacker with write access to the destination directory can drop in a symlink and redirect the write.
Impact: when `install` runs privileged into an attacker-writable directory (staging/build paths), the race allows redirecting writes to arbitrary files and overwriting sensitive system files (`/etc/passwd`, `/etc/shadow`). Recommendation: create atomically with `create_new`/`O_EXCL` and copy via the opened fd rather than reopening by path.
Remediation: Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit b5bbabc1.
---
_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.50. Credit: Zellic._
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-35355 The install utility in uutils coreutils is vulnerable to a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition during file installation. vulnerability
References
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-239g-2685-54x3 web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35355 advisory
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/10067 web
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/commit/b5bbabc18a1121908848d836f869a4e98eb63886 web
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils package
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.6.0 web