CVE-2026-35349Medium· 6.7▾ Sunlitrm: --preserve-root bypassed via a symlink to / (string check instead of dev/inode)
▾ Sunlit zone — Low / medium · no exploitation signal
impact 36.9 · likelihood 0 · exploitation 0
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Exploit-prediction probability, daily snapshots since Jul 6.
Disclosure to exploitation, from the record and what we observed since indexing it.
Disclosed via GHSA
0.2%
0.2% → 0.2%
The --preserve-root check uses a path-string test (path.has_root() && path.parent().is_none()) rather than comparing device/inode. A symlink to / (e.g. /tmp/rootlink -> /) has a parent component, so it passes the check. GNU caches /'s dev/inode at startup and compares every traversed directory against it.
Impact: rm -rf --preserve-root on a path that resolves through a symlink to / bypasses protection and can delete system directories. Recommendation: compare each entered directory's dev/inode against cached /.
Remediation: Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit 5e5968cd.
Reported by Zellic in the uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit 3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242. Finding 3.44. Credit: Zellic.
uu_rm < 0.7.0Upgrade to a patched release:
uu_rm 0.7.0Connected by shared product, vendor, weakness, or advisory.
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