uutils coreutils has a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
Moderate severity
GitHub Reviewed
Published
Apr 22, 2026
to the GitHub Advisory Database
•
Updated Apr 30, 2026
Description
Published by the National Vulnerability Database
Apr 22, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database
Apr 22, 2026
Reviewed
Apr 30, 2026
Last updated
Apr 30, 2026
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.
References