Published: April 22, 2026 | Last Modified: April 22, 2026
A vulnerability in the rm utility of uutils coreutils allows a bypass of the --preserve-root protection. The implementation uses a path-string check rather than comparing device and inode numbers to identify the root directory. An attacker or accidental user can bypass this safeguard by using a symbolic link that resolves to the root directory (e.g., /tmp/rootlink -> /), potentially leading to the unintended recursive deletion of the entire root filesystem.
This analysis is generated by Ghostwire from NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS, and open-source intelligence data. Verify findings through primary sources before acting.