CVE-2026-35368: Coreutils Uutils Coreutils Has An Untrusted Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mh5c-xrmh-m794
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-426
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-35368 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) uutils coreutils has an untrusted vulnerability (CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path) affecting Coreutils libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves uutils coreutils has an untrusted search path. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-35368 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-35368
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mh5c-xrmh-m794
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path
Affected Product Coreutils
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-35368

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Coreutils dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

coreutils fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade coreutils to Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for coreutils

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-35368, inspect your project dependencies for Coreutils:

inspect dependencies for coreutils

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Coreutils in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path, where the product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control. In Coreutils, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A vulnerability exists in the chroot utility of uutils coreutils when using the --userspec option. The utility resolves the user specification via getpwnam() after entering the chroot but before dropping root privileges. On glibc-based systems, this can trigger the Name Service Switch (NSS) to load shared libraries (e.g., libnss_*.so.2) from the new root directory. If the NEWROOT is writable by an attacker, they can inject a malicious NSS module to execute arbitrary code as root, facilitating a full container escape or privilege escalation.

CVE-2026-35368 Affected Coreutils Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
coreutils
 crates.io
≤ 0.8.0

References

NVD — CVE-2026-35368 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35368
Coreutils Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/issues/10327
Coreutils Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/uutils/coreutils

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-35368?
CVE-2026-35368 is a security vulnerability in Coreutils involving uutils coreutils has an Untrusted Search Path under CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path.
Which Coreutils versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: coreutils.
What version fixes CVE-2026-35368?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is coreutils affected?
Yes, coreutils is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-35368?
CVE-2026-35368 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-35368?
CVE-2026-35368 is classified under CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path (The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2026-35368?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for coreutils'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-mh5c-xrmh-m794",
  "modified" : "2026-04-30T17:50:13Z",
  "published" : "2026-04-22T18:31:45Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-35368" ],
  "summary" : "uutils coreutils has an Untrusted Search Path",
  "details" : "A vulnerability exists in the chroot utility of uutils coreutils when using the --userspec option. The utility resolves the user specification via getpwnam() after entering the chroot but before dropping root privileges. On glibc-based systems, this can trigger the Name Service Switch (NSS) to load shared libraries (e.g., libnss_*.so.2) from the new root directory. If the NEWROOT is writable by an attacker, they can inject a malicious NSS module to execute arbitrary code as root, facilitating a full container escape or privilege escalation.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "coreutils"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.8.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35368"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/issues/10327"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-426" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-04-30T17:50:13Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-04-22T17:16:40Z"
  }
}