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chmod: output permission denied error messages for inaccesible directories/files as regular user #9802

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chmod: output permission denied error messages for inaccesible directories/files as regular user #9802

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859202c
git rebase with #9793
asder8215 Jan 1, 2026
be0f522
cargo fmted
asder8215 Dec 30, 2025
7d1150c
fix: bring back String -> PathBuf types in ChmodError and use .into()
asder8215 Dec 30, 2025
a3441cf
cargo clippy
asder8215 Dec 30, 2025
8cfc79d
cargo clippy
asder8215 Dec 30, 2025
07746a4
apply changes made by #9793 manually
asder8215 Jan 1, 2026
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91 changes: 56 additions & 35 deletions src/uu/chmod/src/chmod.rs
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -7,9 +7,9 @@

use clap::{Arg, ArgAction, Command};
use std::ffi::OsString;
use std::fs;
use std::os::unix::fs::{MetadataExt, PermissionsExt};
use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
use std::{fs, io};
use thiserror::Error;
use uucore::display::Quotable;
use uucore::error::{ExitCode, UError, UResult, USimpleError, UUsageError, set_exit_code};
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -372,48 +372,67 @@ impl Chmoder {

for filename in files {
let file = Path::new(filename);
if !file.exists() {
if file.is_symlink() {
if !self.dereference && !self.recursive {
// The file is a symlink and we should not follow it
// Don't try to change the mode of the symlink itself

match file.try_exists() {
Ok(exists) => {
if !(exists) {
if file.is_symlink() {
if !self.dereference && !self.recursive {
// The file is a symlink and we should not follow it
// Don't try to change the mode of the symlink itself
continue;
}
if self.recursive && self.traverse_symlinks == TraverseSymlinks::None {
continue;
}

if !self.quiet {
show!(ChmodError::DanglingSymlink(filename.into()));
set_exit_code(1);
}

if self.verbose {
println!(
"{}",
translate!("chmod-verbose-failed-dangling", "file" => filename.to_string_lossy().quote())
);
}
} else if !self.quiet {
show!(ChmodError::NoSuchFile(filename.into()));
}
// GNU exits with exit code 1 even if -q or --quiet are passed
// So we set the exit code, because it hasn't been set yet if `self.quiet` is true.
set_exit_code(1);
continue;
}
if self.recursive && self.traverse_symlinks == TraverseSymlinks::None {
} else if !self.dereference && file.is_symlink() {
// The file is a symlink and we should not follow it
// chmod 755 --no-dereference a/link
// should not change the permissions in this case
continue;
}

if self.recursive && self.preserve_root && file == Path::new("/") {
return Err(ChmodError::PreserveRoot("/".into()).into());
}
if self.recursive {
r = self.walk_dir_with_context(file, true).and(r);
} else {
r = self.chmod_file(file).and(r);
}
}
Err(e) if e.kind() == io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied => {
if !self.quiet {
show!(ChmodError::DanglingSymlink(filename.into()));
set_exit_code(1);
show!(ChmodError::PermissionDenied(filename.into()));
}

if self.verbose {
println!(
"{}",
translate!("chmod-verbose-failed-dangling", "file" => filename.quote())
);
set_exit_code(1);
}
// error must be no such file
Err(_) => {
if !self.quiet {
show!(ChmodError::NoSuchFile(filename.into()));
}
} else if !self.quiet {
show!(ChmodError::NoSuchFile(filename.into()));
set_exit_code(1);
}
// GNU exits with exit code 1 even if -q or --quiet are passed
// So we set the exit code, because it hasn't been set yet if `self.quiet` is true.
set_exit_code(1);
continue;
} else if !self.dereference && file.is_symlink() {
// The file is a symlink and we should not follow it
// chmod 755 --no-dereference a/link
// should not change the permissions in this case
continue;
}
if self.recursive && self.preserve_root && file == Path::new("/") {
return Err(ChmodError::PreserveRoot("/".into()).into());
}
if self.recursive {
r = self.walk_dir_with_context(file, true).and(r);
} else {
r = self.chmod_file(file).and(r);
}
}
r
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -626,6 +645,8 @@ impl Chmoder {
}
Ok(()) // Skip dangling symlinks
} else if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied {
// These two filenames would normally be conditionally
// quoted, but GNU's tests expect them to always be quoted
Err(ChmodError::PermissionDenied(file.into()).into())
} else {
Err(ChmodError::CannotStat(file.into()).into())
Expand Down
20 changes: 20 additions & 0 deletions tests/by-util/test_chmod.rs
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -1389,3 +1389,23 @@ fn test_chmod_colored_output() {
.stderr_contains("\x1b[31merreur\x1b[0m") // Red "erreur" in French
.stderr_contains("\x1b[33m--invalid-option\x1b[0m"); // Yellow invalid option
}

#[test]
fn test_chmod_locked_dir_permission_denied() {
let scene = TestScenario::new(util_name!());
let at = &scene.fixtures;

let locked_dir = "locked";
let file = "file";

at.mkdir(locked_dir);
at.touch(format!("{locked_dir}/{file}"));
at.set_mode(locked_dir, 0o000);

scene
.ucmd()
.arg("000")
.arg(format!("{locked_dir}/{file}"))
.fails()
.stderr_contains("chmod: cannot access 'locked/file': Permission denied");
}
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