GitHub Advisoryadvisory · crates.io
GHSA-4x34-chg5-mwjj chmod: recursive mode returns exit code 0 even when some files fail (last-file-wins)
MEDIUM
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-35339
- Ecosystem
- crates.io
- Packages
- uu_chmod
- Severity
- Moderate
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
- Weaknesses
- CWE-252, CWE-253, CWE-755
- Reviewed
- 2026-07-06
Affected packages
• crates.io uu_chmod: < 0.6.0 → fixed in 0.6.0
Description
In `Chmoder::chmod()` the recursive branch overwrites the running result instead of accumulating it, so the exit code reflects only the *last* file processed:
```
if self.recursive {
r = self.walk_dir_with_context(file, true); // overwrites r
} else {
r = self.chmod_file(file).and(r);
}
```
PoC: GNU returns 1 when a file fails; uutils returns 0 if the last entry succeeds:
```
$ chmod -R 0755 chmod-bug/root chmod-bug/user # GNU -> ret=1
$ uutils chmod -R 0755 chmod-bug/root chmod-bug/user # -> ret=0
```
Impact: scripts relying on the exit code get a false success signal while some files retained restrictive/unexpected permissions, leading to access-control misconfigurations. Recommendation: accumulate errors during traversal.
Remediation: Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit abd581f6.
---
_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.2. Credit: Zellic._
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-35339 The recursive mode (-R) of the chmod utility in uutils coreutils incorrectly handles exit codes when processing multiple files. vulnerability
References
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-4x34-chg5-mwjj web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35339 advisory
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/9793 web
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/commit/abd581f62e97d0b147306ac40eac13af71c6fbba web
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils package
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.6.0 web