uutils coreutils ln Security Bypass via Improper Handling of the --no-dereference Flag

{
  "id": "449ce5506663f810e74b7eca5dde60805e1e6793c8b06e128de5004568245ddf",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-35372",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "uutils coreutils ln Security Bypass via Improper Handling of the --no-dereference Flag",
    "summary": "A logic error in the ln utility of uutils coreutils allows the utility to dereference a symbolic link target even when the --no-dereference (or -n) flag is explicitly provided. The implementation previously only honored the \"no-dereference\" intent if the --force (overwrite) mode was also enabled. This flaw causes ln to follow a symbolic link that points to a directory and create new links inside that target directory instead of treating the symbolic link itself as the destination. In environments where a privileged user or system script uses ln -n to update a symlink, a local attacker could manipulate existing symbolic links to redirect file creation into sensitive directories, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation or system misconfiguration.",
    "evidence": "osv:CVE-2026-35372",
    "products": [],
    "severity": "medium",
    "structured": {
      "id": "CVE-2026-35372",
      "aliases": [
        "CVE-2026-35372",
        "GHSA-wq63-vh5h-pr5p"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "repo": "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils",
              "type": "GIT",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "c4093734e2ebe2efb7d65e216cd1444664bcf26a"
                }
              ],
              "database_specific": {
                "extracted_events": [
                  {
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "0.8.0"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "AFFECTED_FIELD",
                    "strategy": "StandardRange"
                  },
                  {
                    "range": [
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                        "fixed": "c4093734e2ebe2efb7d65e216cd1444664bcf26a"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "REFERENCES_TAG",
                    "original_tag": "0.8.0"
                  },
                  {
                    "cpe": "cpe:2.3:a:uutils:coreutils:*:*:*:*:*:rust:*:*",
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "0"
                      },
                      {
                        "fixed": "0.8.0"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "CPE_RANGE"
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ],
          "versions": [
            "0.7.0",
            "0.6.0",
            "latest-commit",
            "0.5.0",
            "0.4.0",
            "0.3.0",
            "0.2.2",
            "0.2.0",
            "0.1.0",
            "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-2026-35372.json"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T02:30:29.910003720Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://github.com/uutils",
        "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/35xxx/CVE-2026-35372.json",
        "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.8.0",
        "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35372",
        "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/11253",
        "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cwe_ids": [
          "CWE-61"
        ],
        "cna_assigner": "canonical",
        "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/35xxx/CVE-2026-35372.json"
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-35372",
        "evidence": "/id"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 496712,
  "published_at": "2026-04-22T16:08:58.696+00:00"
}