
Apparently, kernel 5.8 now allows unprivileged "mknod /tmp/x c 0 0": vfs: allow unprivileged whiteout creation https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?h=v5.8.9&id=a3c751a50fe6bbe50eb7622a14b18b361804ee0c which is why rm throws a new prompt: rm: remove write-protected character special file '...'? Use rm -Rf to suppress that.