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uutils coreutils chmod False Success Exit Code in Recursive Mode

Type: advisorySources: OSV

The recursive mode (-R) of the chmod utility in uutils coreutils incorrectly handles exit codes when processing multiple files. The final return value is determined solely by the success or failure of the last file processed. This allows the command to return an exit code of 0 (success) even if errors were encountered on previous files, such as 'Operation not permitted'. Scripts relying on these exit codes may proceed under a false sense of success while sensitive files remain with restrictive or incorrect permissions.

Products
Not specified
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
Not specified
CVEs
CVE-2026-35339
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
6 Nov 2026, 00:02 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

uutils coreutils chmod False Success Exit Code in Recursive Mode

core-osv · Original source

Published 22 Apr 2026, 16:07 UTC

The recursive mode (-R) of the chmod utility in uutils coreutils incorrectly handles exit codes when processing multiple files. The final return value is determined solely by the success or failure of the last file processed. This allows the command to return an exit code of 0 (success) even if errors were encountered on previous files, such as 'Operation not permitted'. Scripts relying on these exit codes may proceed under a false sense of success while sensitive files remain with restrictive or incorrect permissions.

osv:CVE-2026-35339
Complete source record
{
  "id": "d7c69d8b090d64f1457dd198e54286c83a2ed3a102f77bc517089c79c206aad2",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-35339",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "uutils coreutils chmod False Success Exit Code in Recursive Mode",
    "summary": "The recursive mode (-R) of the chmod utility in uutils coreutils incorrectly handles exit codes when processing multiple files. The final return value is determined solely by the success or failure of the last file processed. This allows the command to return an exit code of 0 (success) even if errors were encountered on previous files, such as 'Operation not permitted'. Scripts relying on these exit codes may proceed under a false sense of success while sensitive files remain with restrictive or incorrect permissions.",
    "evidence": "osv:CVE-2026-35339",
    "products": [],
    "severity": "medium",
    "structured": {
      "id": "CVE-2026-35339",
      "aliases": [
        "CVE-2026-35339",
        "GHSA-4x34-chg5-mwjj"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "repo": "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils",
              "type": "GIT",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "2319a99057d11b0c9744c885df84806eea019166"
                }
              ],
              "database_specific": {
                "extracted_events": [
                  {
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                    "source": "AFFECTED_FIELD",
                    "strategy": "StandardRange"
                  },
                  {
                    "range": [
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                        "fixed": "2319a99057d11b0c9744c885df84806eea019166"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "REFERENCES_TAG",
                    "original_tag": "0.6.0"
                  },
                  {
                    "cpe": "cpe:2.3:a:uutils:coreutils:*:*:*:*:*:rust:*:*",
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "0.6.0"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "CPE_RANGE"
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ],
          "versions": [
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            "0.5.0",
            "0.4.0",
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            "0.0.30-delete",
            "0.0.30",
            "0.0.29",
            "0.0.28",
            "0.0.27",
            "0.0.26",
            "0.0.25",
            "0.0.24",
            "0.0.23",
            "0.0.22",
            "0.0.21",
            "0.0.20",
            "0.0.19",
            "0.0.18",
            "0.0.17",
            "0.0.16",
            "0.0.15",
            "0.0.14",
            "0.0.13",
            "0.0.12",
            "0.0.9",
            "0.0.8",
            "0.0.7",
            "0.0.6",
            "0.0.5",
            "0.0.3",
            "0.0.2",
            "0.0.1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-35339.json"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T02:30:45.325392869Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://github.com/uutils",
        "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/35xxx/CVE-2026-35339.json",
        "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.6.0",
        "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35339",
        "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/9793",
        "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cwe_ids": [
          "CWE-253"
        ],
        "cna_assigner": "canonical",
        "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/35xxx/CVE-2026-35339.json"
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-35339",
        "evidence": "/id"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 513299,
  "published_at": "2026-04-22T16:07:33.703+00:00"
}