GHSA-r9hw-mj3w-phcq is a low-severity (CVSS 3.4) CWE-281 vulnerability in uu_mknod. A fix is available for uu_mknod — see the affected versions and patch details below.
mknod: Device nodes created mislabeled on SELinux, with broken cleanup (remove_dir on a node)
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-r9hw-mj3w-phcq.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-r9hw-mj3w-phcq by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 379,842 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
uu_mknodReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects crates.io packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
uutils calls mknod before setting the SELinux context (GNU uses setfscreatecon first, labeling atomically). If set_selinux_security_context fails, cleanup uses std::fs::remove_dir, which cannot remove device nodes or FIFOs, leaving the mislabeled node behind.
Impact: on SELinux-enforcing systems the node is created with the wrong context; the command reports failure but leaves a mislabeled device node that may bypass mandatory access control, and orphaned nodes can persist across reboots. Recommendation: use setfscreatecon before mknod, abort on failure, and use remove_file for cleanup.
Remediation: Acknowledged by Canonical.
Reported by Zellic in the uutils coreutils Program Security Assessment (prepared for Canonical, Jan 20 2026), audited commit 3a07ffc5a9bd4c283e75afa548ba1f1957bad242. Finding 3.58. Credit: Zellic.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | uu_mknod | all versions | 0.6.0cargo update -p uu_mknod --precise 0.6.0 |
Affected Products
coreutilsuutilsDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for uu_mknod, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update uu_mknod to 0.6.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r9hw-mj3w-phcq is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-r9hw-mj3w-phcq in your dependencies?
Find it across crates.io, including transitive dependencies.