---
id: CVE-2026-35356
aliases:
  - GHSA-gwm6-q8ch-hcfr
title: 'install -D: symlink race in directory creation allows arbitrary file overwrite'
summary: 'install -D: symlink race in directory creation allows arbitrary file overwrite'
severity: medium
cvss: 6.3
cwe:
  - CWE-59
  - CWE-367
vendor: uu_install
product: uu_install
ecosystem: rust
affected:
  - uu_install < 0.7.0
patched:
  - uu_install 0.7.0
published: '2026-07-06'
updated: '2026-07-06'
source: GHSA
sourceUrl: 'https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gwm6-q8ch-hcfr'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-gwm6-q8ch-hcfr
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35356'
  - url: 'https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/10140'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/commit/0c41299975f3c1e21cf5ca968d42cad55ceb42a1
  - url: 'https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.7.0'
  - url: 'https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gwm6-q8ch-hcfr'
tags:
  - ghsa
  - rust
epss: 0.00113
epssPercentile: 0.01278
ingestedAt: '2026-07-06T20:46:12.685Z'
---

## Overview

The `-D` path runs `fs::create_dir_all` on a pathname then later opens the destination via path-based `File::create`/`fs::copy`, neither anchored to a directory fd. Between the two, an attacker can replace a path component with a symlink, redirecting the write.

**Impact:** an attacker with concurrent write access to the destination tree can redirect a privileged `install -D` to an arbitrary location, enabling arbitrary file overwrite with attacker-controlled content. Recommendation: use dirfd-based traversal (`openat`/`mkdirat` + `O_NOFOLLOW`) per component and create the destination via `openat` on the same dirfd.

**Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit 0c412999.

---
_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.51. Credit: Zellic._

## Affected packages

- `uu_install < 0.7.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

- `uu_install 0.7.0`