GHSA-H444-6J9X-P8VH

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-06 20:24 – Updated: 2026-07-06 20:24
VLAI
Summary
mv: symlinks expanded during cross-device move (resource exhaustion / data duplication)
Details

When moving directories across filesystems, uutils mv dereferences symlinks inside the tree, copying their targets as real files/dirs instead of preserving the symlinks. GNU preserves symlinks by default. E.g. a etc_link -> /etc inside the source becomes a full copy of /etc at the destination.

Impact: (1) resource exhaustion — a small tree can expand into a huge copy (time/disk DoS); (2) unintended duplication of sensitive paths referenced by symlink; (3) symlink-loop amplification causing deep recursion. Recommendation: in cross-device fallback, detect symlinks via symlink_metadata() and recreate with read_link()/symlink(); add loop detection.

Remediation: Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit 9654e4ab.

Reported by Zellic in the uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit 3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242. Finding 3.63. Credit: Zellic.

Severity
6.6 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "crates.io",
        "name": "uu_mv"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "0.7.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-35365"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-400",
      "CWE-59"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-07-06T20:24:53Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "When moving directories across filesystems, uutils `mv` dereferences symlinks inside the tree, copying their targets as real files/dirs instead of preserving the symlinks. GNU preserves symlinks by default. E.g. a `etc_link -\u003e /etc` inside the source becomes a full copy of `/etc` at the destination.\n\n**Impact:** (1) resource exhaustion \u2014 a small tree can expand into a huge copy (time/disk DoS); (2) unintended duplication of sensitive paths referenced by symlink; (3) symlink-loop amplification causing deep recursion. Recommendation: in cross-device fallback, detect symlinks via `symlink_metadata()` and recreate with `read_link()`/`symlink()`; add loop detection.\n\n**Remediation:** Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit 9654e4ab.\n\n---\n_Reported by Zellic in the *uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment* (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit `3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242`. Finding 3.63. Credit: Zellic._",
  "id": "GHSA-h444-6j9x-p8vh",
  "modified": "2026-07-06T20:24:53Z",
  "published": "2026-07-06T20:24:53Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/security/advisories/GHSA-h444-6j9x-p8vh"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35365"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/10546"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/commit/9654e4abaf24449ef2279e9a16963edb5c8b8fef"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.7.0"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "mv: symlinks expanded during cross-device move (resource exhaustion / data duplication)"
}



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