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install: ancestor directories respect process umask instead of using fixed 0755 (diverges from GNU) #12714
Description
Description
When install -D or install -d creates ancestor directories, the process umask still applies to them. GNU install creates ancestor directories at exactly 0755 whatever the caller's umask is.
Impact
Ancestor modes when creating a/b as a non-root user on Linux (uutils main at 2b85f6f, GNU 9.12 built from source):
| umask | GNU -D and -d |
uutils install -D f a/b/f |
uutils install -d a/b (ancestor a) |
|---|---|---|---|
0022 |
0755 |
0755 |
0755 |
0002 |
0755 |
0755 |
0775 |
0027 |
0755 |
0750 |
0750 |
0077 |
0755 |
0700 |
0700 |
0111 |
0755 |
a is 0644, then cannot create directory 'a/b' |
a is 0666, then cannot create directory 'a/b': Permission denied |
-D starts its ancestors from 0755 and -d from 0777, and the umask is then applied to both. Under umask 0002 (the trigger for #11363) -D happens to give 0755, so that report came from a broken test, but -d diverges there too.
Affected code
src/uu/install/src/install.rs: both code paths (directory()line ~498 andstandard()line ~687) create ancestor directories without zeroing umask firstsrc/uucore/src/lib/features/safe_traversal.rs:create_dir_all_safedocuments that "the actual mode will be modified by the process umask"
Fix
Zero the process umask early in install's uumain (unix only). uucore::mode already uses rustix::process::umask internally for get_umask(); a zero_umask() helper can be exported from there.
Activity
fix(install): zero umask at startup so ancestor dirs are created at e…
fix(install): zero umask at startup so ancestor dirs are created at e…
abendrothj commentedon Oct 1, 2026
Rechecked against GNU 9.12 built from the release tarball: GNU gives
0755at every umask in the table. The uutils column was off for-d, which starts from0777so0002diverges too, and for0111, where both modes fail outright. I've split the table and replaced the section describing GNU's internals with the observed behavior.