CVE-2026-35376

uutils coreutils chcon Security Bypass and Mandatory Access Control (MAC) Inconsistency via TOCTOU Race Condition

MEDIUM
5.8
CVSS Score
Published: April 22, 2026 at 04:09 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:40 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorCoreutils

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Severity
MEDIUM5.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

A Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability exists in the chcon utility of uutils coreutils during recursive operations. The implementation resolves recursive targets using a fresh path lookup (via fts_accpath) rather than binding the traversal and label application to the specific directory state encountered during traversal. Because these operations are not anchored to file descriptors, a local attacker with write access to a directory tree can exploit timing-sensitive rename or symbolic link races to redirect a privileged recursive relabeling operation to unintended files or directories. This vulnerability breaks the hardening expectations for SELinux administration workflows and can lead to the unauthorized modification of security labels on sensitive system objects.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 0.8.0
Affected range stops below 0.8.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (2)

PatchIssue Tracking
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/11402
Vendor AdvisoryRelease Notes
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.8.0

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
LOW
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-367

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