diff --git a/.github/workflows/CICD.yml b/.github/workflows/CICD.yml
index 77812c021..9f6627c12 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/CICD.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/CICD.yml
@@ -1280,16 +1280,15 @@ jobs:
         job:
           - { os: macos-latest   , features: feat_os_macos }
           - { os: windows-latest , features: feat_os_windows }
+
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v5
       with:
         persist-credentials: false
     - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
     - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
-
     - name: Build SELinux utilities as stubs
       run: cargo build -p uu_chcon -p uu_runcon
-
     - name: Verify stub binaries exist
       shell: bash
       run: |
@@ -1300,10 +1299,27 @@ jobs:
           test -f target/debug/chcon || exit 1
           test -f target/debug/runcon || exit 1
         fi
-
     - name: Verify workspace builds with stubs
       run: cargo build --features ${{ matrix.job.features }}
 
+  test_safe_traversal:
+    name: Safe Traversal Security Check
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: [ min_version, deps ]
+
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      with:
+        persist-credentials: false
+    - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+    - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+    - name: Install strace
+      run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y strace
+    - name: Build utilities with safe traversal
+      run: cargo build --release -p uu_rm -p uu_chmod -p uu_chown -p uu_chgrp -p uu_mv -p uu_du
+    - name: Run safe traversal verification
+      run: ./util/check-safe-traversal.sh
+
   benchmarks:
     name: Run benchmarks (CodSpeed)
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.vscode/cSpell.json b/.vscode/cSpell.json
index 5d3e3524b..1d360d990 100644
--- a/.vscode/cSpell.json
+++ b/.vscode/cSpell.json
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
     "docs/src/release-notes/**",
     "src/uu/*/benches/*.rs",
     "src/uucore/src/lib/features/benchmark.rs",
+    "util/check-safe-traversal.sh",
   ],
 
   "enableGlobDot": true,
diff --git a/util/check-safe-traversal.sh b/util/check-safe-traversal.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..ed3c5a78e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/check-safe-traversal.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Check that utilities are using safe traversal (openat family syscalls)
+# to prevent TOCTOU race conditions
+#
+
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+
+# Function to exit immediately on error
+fail_immediately() {
+    echo "❌ FAILED: $1"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Debug information available in: $TEMP_DIR/strace_*.log"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+cleanup() {
+    rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+echo "=== Safe Traversal Verification ==="
+
+# Assume binaries are already built (for CI usage)
+# Prefer individual binaries for more accurate testing
+if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT/target/release/rm" ]; then
+    echo "Using individual binaries"
+    USE_MULTICALL=0
+elif [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT/target/release/coreutils" ]; then
+    echo "Using multicall binary"
+    USE_MULTICALL=1
+    COREUTILS_BIN="$PROJECT_ROOT/target/release/coreutils"
+else
+    echo "Error: No binaries found. Please build first with 'cargo build --release'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+cd "$TEMP_DIR"
+
+# Create test directory structure
+mkdir -p test_dir/sub1/sub2/sub3
+echo "test1" > test_dir/file1.txt
+echo "test2" > test_dir/sub1/file2.txt
+echo "test3" > test_dir/sub1/sub2/file3.txt
+echo "test4" > test_dir/sub1/sub2/sub3/file4.txt
+
+check_utility() {
+    local util="$1"
+    local trace_syscalls="$2"
+    local expected_syscalls="$3"
+    local test_args="$4"
+    local test_name="$5"
+
+    echo ""
+    echo "Testing $util ($test_name)..."
+
+    local strace_log="strace_${util}_${test_name}.log"
+
+    # Choose binary to use
+    if [ "$USE_MULTICALL" -eq 1 ]; then
+        local util_cmd="$COREUTILS_BIN $util"
+    else
+        local util_path="$PROJECT_ROOT/target/release/$util"
+        if [ ! -f "$util_path" ]; then
+            fail_immediately "$util binary not found at $util_path"
+        fi
+        local util_cmd="$util_path"
+    fi
+
+    # Run utility under strace
+    strace -f -e trace="$trace_syscalls" -o "$strace_log" \
+        $util_cmd $test_args 2>/dev/null || true
+    cat $strace_log
+    # Check for expected safe syscalls
+    local found_safe=0
+    for syscall in $expected_syscalls; do
+        if grep -q "$syscall" "$strace_log"; then
+            echo "✓ Found $syscall() (safe traversal)"
+            found_safe=$((found_safe + 1))
+        else
+            fail_immediately "Missing $syscall() (safe traversal not active for $util)"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    # Count detailed syscall statistics
+    local openat_count unlinkat_count fchmodat_count fchownat_count newfstatat_count renameat_count
+    local unlink_count rmdir_count chmod_count chown_count safe_ops unsafe_ops
+
+    openat_count=$(grep -c "openat(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    unlinkat_count=$(grep -c "unlinkat(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    fchmodat_count=$(grep -c "fchmodat(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    fchownat_count=$(grep -c "fchownat(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    newfstatat_count=$(grep -c "newfstatat(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    renameat_count=$(grep -c "renameat(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+
+    # Count old unsafe syscalls (exclude the trace line prefix)
+    unlink_count=$(grep -cE "\bunlink\(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    rmdir_count=$(grep -cE "\brmdir\(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    chmod_count=$(grep -cE "\bchmod\(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+    chown_count=$(grep -cE "\b(chown|lchown)\(" "$strace_log" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\n' || echo "0")
+
+    # Ensure all variables are integers
+    [ -z "$openat_count" ] && openat_count=0
+    [ -z "$unlinkat_count" ] && unlinkat_count=0
+    [ -z "$fchmodat_count" ] && fchmodat_count=0
+    [ -z "$fchownat_count" ] && fchownat_count=0
+    [ -z "$newfstatat_count" ] && newfstatat_count=0
+    [ -z "$renameat_count" ] && renameat_count=0
+    [ -z "$unlink_count" ] && unlink_count=0
+    [ -z "$rmdir_count" ] && rmdir_count=0
+    [ -z "$chmod_count" ] && chmod_count=0
+    [ -z "$chown_count" ] && chown_count=0
+
+    # Calculate totals
+    safe_ops=$((openat_count + unlinkat_count + fchmodat_count + fchownat_count + newfstatat_count + renameat_count))
+    unsafe_ops=$((unlink_count + rmdir_count + chmod_count + chown_count))
+
+    echo "  Strace statistics:"
+    echo "    Safe syscalls: openat=$openat_count unlinkat=$unlinkat_count fchmodat=$fchmodat_count fchownat=$fchownat_count newfstatat=$newfstatat_count renameat=$renameat_count"
+    echo "    Unsafe syscalls: unlink=$unlink_count rmdir=$rmdir_count chmod=$chmod_count chown/lchown=$chown_count"
+    echo "    Total: safe=$safe_ops unsafe=$unsafe_ops"
+
+    # For rm specifically, we expect unlinkat instead of unlink/rmdir for file operations
+    # Note: A single rmdir() for the root directory is acceptable because:
+    # 1. The root directory path is provided by the user (not discovered during traversal)
+    # 2. There's no TOCTOU race - we're not resolving paths during recursive operations
+    # 3. After safe traversal removes all contents via unlinkat(), rmdir() is safe for the empty root
+    if [ "$util" = "rm" ]; then
+        if [ "$unlinkat_count" -gt 0 ] && [ "$unlink_count" -eq 0 ] && [ "$rmdir_count" -le 1 ]; then
+            echo "✓ Using safe syscalls (unlinkat for traversal)"
+            if [ "$rmdir_count" -eq 1 ]; then
+                echo "  Note: Single rmdir() for root directory is acceptable"
+            fi
+        elif [ "$unlink_count" -gt 0 ] || [ "$rmdir_count" -gt 1 ]; then
+            fail_immediately "$util is UNSAFE: Using unlink/rmdir for file operations (unlink=$unlink_count rmdir=$rmdir_count unlinkat=$unlinkat_count) - vulnerable to TOCTOU attacks"
+        else
+            echo "⚠ No file removal operations detected"
+        fi
+    elif [ "$safe_ops" -gt 0 ] && [ "$unsafe_ops" -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "✓ Using only safe syscalls"
+    elif [ "$safe_ops" -gt 0 ] && [ "$safe_ops" -ge "$unsafe_ops" ]; then
+        echo "✓ Using primarily safe syscalls"
+    elif [ "$found_safe" -gt 0 ]; then
+        echo "⚠ Some safe syscalls found but mixed with unsafe ops"
+    else
+        fail_immediately "$util is not using safe traversal"
+    fi
+}
+
+# Get list of available utilities
+if [ "$USE_MULTICALL" -eq 1 ]; then
+    AVAILABLE_UTILS=$($COREUTILS_BIN --list)
+else
+    AVAILABLE_UTILS=""
+    for util in rm chmod chown chgrp du mv; do
+        if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT/target/release/$util" ]; then
+            AVAILABLE_UTILS="$AVAILABLE_UTILS $util"
+        fi
+    done
+fi
+
+# Test rm - should use openat, unlinkat, newfstatat
+if echo "$AVAILABLE_UTILS" | grep -q "rm"; then
+    cp -r test_dir test_rm
+    check_utility "rm" "openat,unlinkat,newfstatat,unlink,rmdir" "openat" "-rf test_rm" "recursive_remove"
+fi
+
+# Test chmod - should use openat, fchmodat, newfstatat
+if echo "$AVAILABLE_UTILS" | grep -q "chmod"; then
+    cp -r test_dir test_chmod
+    check_utility "chmod" "openat,fchmodat,newfstatat,chmod" "openat fchmodat" "-R 755 test_chmod" "recursive_chmod"
+fi
+
+# Test chown - should use openat, fchownat, newfstatat
+if echo "$AVAILABLE_UTILS" | grep -q "chown"; then
+    cp -r test_dir test_chown
+    USER_ID=$(id -u)
+    GROUP_ID=$(id -g)
+    check_utility "chown" "openat,fchownat,newfstatat,chown,lchown" "openat fchownat" "-R $USER_ID:$GROUP_ID test_chown" "recursive_chown"
+fi
+
+# Test chgrp - should use openat, fchownat, newfstatat
+if echo "$AVAILABLE_UTILS" | grep -q "chgrp"; then
+    cp -r test_dir test_chgrp
+    check_utility "chgrp" "openat,fchownat,newfstatat,chown,lchown" "openat fchownat" "-R $GROUP_ID test_chgrp" "recursive_chgrp"
+fi
+
+# Test du - should use openat, newfstatat
+if echo "$AVAILABLE_UTILS" | grep -q "du"; then
+    cp -r test_dir test_du
+    check_utility "du" "openat,newfstatat,stat,lstat" "openat" "-a test_du" "directory_usage"
+fi
+
+# Test mv - should use openat, renameat for directory moves
+if echo "$AVAILABLE_UTILS" | grep -q "mv"; then
+    mkdir -p test_mv_src/sub
+    echo "test" > test_mv_src/file.txt
+    echo "test" > test_mv_src/sub/file2.txt
+    check_utility "mv" "openat,renameat,newfstatat,rename" "openat" "test_mv_src test_mv_dst" "move_directory"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "✓ Basic safe traversal verification completed"
+echo ""
+echo "=== Additional Safety Checks ==="
+
+# Check for dangerous patterns across all logs
+echo "Checking for dangerous path resolution patterns..."
+
+# Check that we're not doing excessive path resolutions (sign of TOCTOU vulnerability)
+echo "Checking path resolution frequency..."
+for log in strace_*.log; do
+    if [ -f "$log" ]; then
+        path_resolutions=$(grep -c "test_" "$log" 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
+        if [ "$path_resolutions" -gt 20 ]; then
+            echo "⚠ $log: High path resolution count ($path_resolutions) - potential TOCTOU risk"
+        fi
+    fi
+done
+
+echo ""
+echo "=== Summary ==="
+echo "All utilities are using safe traversal correctly!"