rm: 'rm -rf ./' (and ./// variants) silently deletes current directory contents, bypassing dot protection

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-35363: 0.17% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 5.84 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

rm -rf . is correctly refused, but cleantrailingslashes normalizes ./// to ./ while pathiscurrentorparentdirectory only matches ./.. (and /.//..), not ./ or ../. So rm -rf ./ recursively deletes the directory's contents and then prints a misleading cannot remove './': Invalid input. Impact: all files/subdirectories in the current directory are silently deleted; the misleading error makes users miss the recovery window. Recommendation: handle trailing-slash variants in pathiscurrentorparentdirectory. Remediation: Acknowledged by Canonical; fixed in commit d0e5af23. --- Reported by Zellic in the uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit 3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242. Finding 3.60. Credit: Zellic. Upstream tracking issue: https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/issues/9749 · CVE-2026-35363

Published by the source

6 Jul 2026, 20:20 UTC

Last modified by the source

6 Jul 2026, 20:20 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:43 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-89p7-7cq3-hhr2

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-35363

Advisory: rm: 'rm -rf ./' (and ./// variants) silently deletes current directory contents, bypassing dot protection
IDs: CVE-2026-35363, GHSA-89p7-7cq3-hhr2
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-35363 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:43 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.6)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: uu_rm 0.6.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- crates.io uu_rm: affected < 0.6.0; fixed in 0.6.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- crates.io uu_rm: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on uu_rm.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-89p7-7cq3-hhr2 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-89p7-7cq3-hhr2 lists affected ranges: crates.io uu_rm >=0 <0.6.0)

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