High severity7.8NVD Advisory· Published Aug 13, 2026· Updated Aug 31, 2026
CVE-2026-53803
CVE-2026-53803
Description
rsync before 3.5.0 contains a symlink following vulnerability that allows local attackers to overwrite arbitrary files by placing a symlink at a predictable output path such as --log-file, --write-batch, or daemon-mode log and statistics paths. Attackers can exploit rsync's failure to reject symlinks during ancillary file writes to redirect output to arbitrary filesystem locations, achieving local privilege escalation on installations where rsync runs with elevated privileges such as setuid or privileged daemon configurations.
Affected products
6- osv-coords4 versionspkg:rpm/almalinux/rsyncpkg:rpm/almalinux/rsync-daemonpkg:rpm/almalinux/rsync-rrsyncpkg:rpm/opensuse/rsync&distro=openSUSE%20Leap%2016.0
< 3.2.7-1.el9_8+ 3 more
- (no CPE)range: < 3.2.7-1.el9_8
- (no CPE)range: < 3.2.7-1.el9_8
- (no CPE)range: < 3.2.7-1.el9_8
- (no CPE)range: < 3.4.1-160000.6.1
Patches
Vulnerability mechanics
References
3- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/security/advisories/GHSA-g9f4-7q66-9582nvdVendor Advisory
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-symlink-following-arbitrary-file-overwritenvdRelease NotesThird Party Advisory
- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.5.0nvdProductRelease Notes
News mentions
1- Rsync: 25 Vulnerabilities Disclosed Together, Affecting Versions Before 3.5.0Vypr Intelligence · Aug 13, 2026