uutils
diff --git a/‎src/uu/mkdir/src/mkdir.rs‎
Lines changed: 50 additions & 7 deletions b/‎src/uu/mkdir/src/mkdir.rs‎
Lines changed: 50 additions & 7 deletions
@@ -216,8 +216,8 @@ fn chmod(_path: &Path, _mode: u32) -> UResult<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
-// Return true if the directory at `path` has been created by this call.
-// `is_parent` argument is not used on windows
+// Create a directory at the given path.
+// Uses iterative approach instead of recursion to avoid stack overflow with deep nesting.
 #[allow(unused_variables)]
 fn create_dir(path: &Path, is_parent: bool, config: &Config) -> UResult<()> {
     let path_exists = path.exists();
@@ -231,15 +231,41 @@ fn create_dir(path: &Path, is_parent: bool, config: &Config) -> UResult<()> {
         return Ok(());
     }
 
+    // Iterative implementation: collect all directories to create, then create them
+    // This avoids stack overflow with deeply nested directories
     if config.recursive {
-        match path.parent() {
-            Some(p) => create_dir(p, true, config)?,
-            None => {
-                USimpleError::new(1, translate!("mkdir-error-failed-to-create-tree"));
+        // Pre-allocate approximate capacity to avoid reallocations
+        let mut dirs_to_create = Vec::with_capacity(16);
+        let mut current = path;
+
+        // First pass: collect all parent directories
+        while let Some(parent) = current.parent() {
+            if parent == Path::new("") {
+                break;
+            }
+            dirs_to_create.push(parent);
+            current = parent;
+        }
+
+        // Second pass: create directories from root to leaf
+        // Only create those that don't exist
+        for dir in dirs_to_create.iter().rev() {
+            if !dir.exists() {
+                create_single_dir(dir, true, config)?;
             }
         }
     }
 
+    // Create the target directory
+    create_single_dir(path, is_parent, config)
+}
+
+// Helper function to create a single directory with appropriate permissions
+// `is_parent` argument is not used on windows
+#[allow(unused_variables)]
+fn create_single_dir(path: &Path, is_parent: bool, config: &Config) -> UResult<()> {
+    let path_exists = path.exists();
+
     match std::fs::create_dir(path) {
         Ok(()) => {
             if config.verbose {
@@ -287,7 +313,24 @@ fn create_dir(path: &Path, is_parent: bool, config: &Config) -> UResult<()> {
             Ok(())
         }
 
-        Err(_) if path.is_dir() => Ok(()),
+        Err(_) if path.is_dir() => {
+            // Directory already exists - check if this is a logical directory creation
+            // (i.e., not just a parent reference like "test_dir/..")
+            let ends_with_parent_dir = matches!(
+                path.components().next_back(),
+                Some(std::path::Component::ParentDir)
+            );
+
+            // Print verbose message for logical directories, even if they exist
+            // This matches GNU behavior for paths like "test_dir/../test_dir_a"
+            if config.verbose && is_parent && config.recursive && !ends_with_parent_dir {
+                println!(
+                    "{}",
+                    translate!("mkdir-verbose-created-directory", "util_name" => uucore::util_name(), "path" => path.quote())
+                );
+            }
+            Ok(())
+        }
         Err(e) => Err(e.into()),
     }
 }