CVE-2026-53799 PUBLISHED

rsync < 3.5.0 Symlink Race Condition via ACL/xattr Application

Assigner: VulnCheck
Reserved: 10.06.2026 Published: 13.08.2026 Updated: 13.08.2026

rsync before 3.5.0 contains a symlink race condition vulnerability that allows local attackers to cause rsync to apply arbitrary ACLs or extended attributes to unintended files by substituting a symlink at a predictable destination path between the file write and the subsequent acl_set_file() or lsetxattr() call. Attackers can exploit this timing window to redirect ACL and xattr application through a crafted symlink to files outside the intended destination tree, potentially granting elevated permissions and enabling local privilege escalation.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS Score: 7.2

Product Status

Vendor RsyncProject
Product rsync
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 0 to 3.4.4 (incl.)
  • Version 3.5.0 is unaffected

Credits

  • gregkh finder

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') CWE
  • CWE-367 Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition CWE