CVE-2026-35369: uutils coreutils improper input validation in kill utility

CVE-2026-35369 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.5 · Published 2026-04-22

A vulnerability in the 'kill' utility of the uutils coreutils package (a Rust-based alternative to standard Linux system tools) can cause an accidental or intentional system crash. When a user types a specific command intended to specify a signal, the tool incorrectly interprets it as a command to terminate every single process the user has permission to see. This can lead to immediate service outages, data loss from unsaved work, or a complete system shutdown.

Technologies: Uutils Coreutils. Vendors: crates.io, Uutils.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-35369 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-35369 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-35369?
Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 5.5, published 22 April 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
uu_kill (crates.io) < 0.6.0, SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=0.6.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-35369?
Yes. uu_kill (crates.io): upgrade to 0.6.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-35369 attacked?
It is attacked with local access, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-35369?
Check whether you run uu_kill (crates.io) or Uutils Coreutils at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • uu_kill (crates.io): upgrade to 0.6.0 or later
    cargo update -p uu_kill

Technical details

An argument parsing error in the 'uu_kill' component of uutils coreutils incorrectly interprets the command 'kill -1' as a request to send the default SIGTERM signal to PID -1. In Unix-like systems, sending a signal to PID -1 is a broadcast operation that targets every process the caller has permission to signal. This behavior deviates from the standard GNU coreutils implementation, which correctly identifies '-1' as a signal number and errors out due to a missing PID. A local attacker or an uninformed user can trigger this to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by mass-terminating processes. The issue is fixed in version 0.6.0 by ensuring '-N' is parsed as a signal and validating that a PID is provided.

Affected products

  • uutils coreutils (uu_kill) < 0.6.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-35369
  • GHSA-p6rv-2qpm-fwvg

Timeline

  • 2025-12-19: patched: Fix merged into main branch via commit 2d3aebc
  • 2026-01-20: disclosed: Reported by Zellic during security assessment for Canonical
  • 2026-02-02: other: Version 0.6.0 released containing the fix
  • 2026-07-06: advisory: GitHub Advisory published

References

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