Nix is a package manager for Linux and other Unix systems. Prior to 2.35.0, a malicious derivation executed with the recursive-nix experimental feature can exploit a time-of-check/time-of-use race involving final symlink handling in the LocalStore restore path. The race can cause writeFile to follow a substituted final symlink when opening a path with O_TRUNC instead of enforcing FinalSymlink::DontFollow, allowing the Nix process or nix-daemon to create or truncate an empty file outside the build sandbox with the daemon user's permissions. The primitive does not provide arbitrary-content writes and requires winning the race. This issue is fixed in version 2.35.0.
History

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Low


Thu, 20 Aug 2026 20:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Nixos
Nixos nix
Vendors & Products Nixos
Nixos nix

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Nix is a package manager for Linux and other Unix systems. Prior to 2.35.0, a malicious derivation executed with the recursive-nix experimental feature can exploit a time-of-check/time-of-use race involving final symlink handling in the LocalStore restore path. The race can cause writeFile to follow a substituted final symlink when opening a path with O_TRUNC instead of enforcing FinalSymlink::DontFollow, allowing the Nix process or nix-daemon to create or truncate an empty file outside the build sandbox with the daemon user's permissions. The primitive does not provide arbitrary-content writes and requires winning the race. This issue is fixed in version 2.35.0.
Title Nix: Arbitrary file truncation outside the sandbox with recursive-nix experimental feature
Weaknesses CWE-367
CWE-61
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 2.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published: 2026-08-20T16:18:06.729Z

Updated: 2026-08-20T19:32:22.878Z

Reserved: 2026-07-20T18:31:39.290Z

Link: CVE-2026-64846

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-08-20T19:32:18.723Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-08-20T17:19:16.813

Modified: 2026-08-20T20:17:45.813

Link: CVE-2026-64846

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Low

Publid Date: 2026-08-20T16:18:06Z

Links: CVE-2026-64846 - Bugzilla