uutils coreutils mv Denial of Service and Data Duplication via Improper Symlink Expansion

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

The mv utility in uutils coreutils improperly handles directory trees containing symbolic links during moves across filesystem boundaries. Instead of preserving symlinks, the implementation expands them, copying the linked targets as real files or directories at the destination. This can lead to resource exhaustion (disk space or time) if symlinks point to large external directories, unexpected duplication of sensitive data into unintended locations, or infinite recursion and repeated copying in the presence of symlink loops.

Source published

22 Apr 2026 16:08:41 UTC

Source modified

22 Apr 2026 17:59:34 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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CVSS 3.1 · 6.6 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L

The mv utility in uutils coreutils improperly handles directory trees containing symbolic links during moves across filesystem boundaries. Instead of preserving symlinks, the implementation expands them, copying the linked targets as real files or directories at the destination. This can lead to resource exhaustion (disk space or time) if symlinks point to large external directories, unexpected duplication of sensitive data into unintended locations, or infinite recursion and repeated copying in the presence of symlink loops.

Source published

Apr 22, 2026, 4:08:41 PM (timezone not stated)

Source modified

Apr 22, 2026, 5:59:34 PM (timezone not stated)

Observed here

28 Oct 2026 04:55:21 UTC

Source terms

ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply

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EUVD CVSS 3.1 · 6.6 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L

The mv utility in uutils coreutils improperly handles directory trees containing symbolic links during moves across filesystem boundaries. Instead of preserving symlinks, the implementation expands them, copying the linked targets as real files or directories at the destination. This can lead to resource exhaustion (disk space or time) if symlinks point to large external directories, unexpected duplication of sensitive data into unintended locations, or infinite recursion and repeated copying in the presence of symlink loops.

Source published

22 Apr 2026 17:16:39 UTC

Source modified

26 Oct 2026 21:10:00 UTC

Observed here

27 Oct 2026 09:03:12 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Secondary · 6.6 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L

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._

Source published

6 Jul 2026 20:24:53 UTC

Source modified

6 Jul 2026 20:41:30 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:54 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L

Publisher rating · MODERATE