GHSA-xf75-659h-cgg5 CVE-2026-35345
uutils coreutils has a Link Following Issue
- Severity
- 5.3 / 10
- Medium · CVSS 3.1
- Exploit chance (EPSS)
- 0.10%
- Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 0.66% of scored vulnerabilities.
- Known exploited
- No
- Not in CISA's catalog
- Weakness
- CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
- Fix
- None yet
- No fixed version published
Description
A vulnerability in the tail utility of uutils coreutils allows for the exfiltration of sensitive file contents when using the --follow=name option. Unlike GNU tail, the uutils implementation continues to monitor a path after it has been replaced by a symbolic link, subsequently outputting the contents of the link's target. In environments where a privileged user (e.g., root) monitors a log directory, a local attacker with write access to that directory can replace a log file with a symlink to a sensitive system file (such as /etc/shadow), causing tail to disclose the contents of the sensitive file.
Affected versions
crates.io
| Package | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| coreutils | <= 0.8.0 |
No fix yet |
How to fix
No fixed version has been published yet. Until one is, remove or replace the package, or turn off or isolate the affected feature. This page updates when a fix ships.
Severity breakdown
CVSS 3.1 5.3
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- High
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Weakness
CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
How to prevent it
- Architecture and Design: Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system. Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.
References
Advisories
Packages
Other links
Timeline
- Published
- Last updated by the source
- Latest EPSS score
Related advisories
| Advisory | Severity | Why it's related |
|---|---|---|
| GHSA-m2pg-c7m6-77pj uutils coreutils has an Improper Input Validation Issue in its cut Utility | Medium | Also affects coreutils |
| GHSA-fhr3-xh3q-69w6 uutils coreutils has an Incorrect Provision of Specified Functionality Issue | Low | Also affects coreutils |
| GHSA-5pv5-xh52-hvrp uutils coreutils has an Incorrect Short Circuit Evaluation Issue | Low | Also affects coreutils |
| GHSA-5v4g-vw9x-h534 uutils coreutils has an Improper Input Validation Issue in its env Utility | Low | Also affects coreutils |
| GHSA-6g8r-74qp-6859 uutils coreutils has a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition | Medium | Also affects coreutils |
| GHSA-vx9m-xjwf-8cqm uutils coreutils has an Improper Handling of Unicode Encoding Issue | Low | Also affects coreutils |
| GHSA-4wrp-79m8-9m9p uutils coreutils has a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition | Medium | Also affects coreutils |
| GHSA-wq63-vh5h-pr5p uutils coreutils has a UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following issue | Medium | Also affects coreutils |
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