Description
A logic error in the tr utility of uutils coreutils causes the program to incorrectly define the [:graph:] and [:print:] character classes. The implementation mistakenly includes the ASCII space character (0x20) in the [:graph:] class and excludes it from the [:print:] class, effectively reversing the standard behavior established by POSIX and GNU coreutils. This vulnerability leads to unintended data modification or loss when the utility is used in automated scripts or data-cleaning pipelines that rely on standard character class semantics. For example, a command executed to delete all graphical characters while intending to preserve whitespace will incorrectly delete all ASCII spaces, potentially resulting in data corruption or logic failures in downstream processing.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uutils | coreutils | < 0.8.0 | 0.8.0 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | rust-coreutils | 0.8.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | rust-coreutils | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | rust-coreutils | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 25.10 | rust-coreutils | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | rust-coreutils | No fix yet | — |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| crates.io | coreutils | < 0.8.0 | 0.8.0 | GHSA-fhr3-xh3q-69w6 |
References
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/pull/11405 issue-tracking patch
- https://github.com/uutils/coreutils/releases/tag/0.8.0 vendor-advisory