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.
CVSS Details
- CVSS 4.0 Base Score: 8.5 (HIGH)
- CVSS 4.0 Vector: (CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X)
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 7.8
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Linux | — | Upgrade rsync | Sep 1, 2026 | Aug 13, 2026 |
| Freebsd | — | Upgrade rsync | Aug 27, 2026 | Aug 25, 2026 |
| Redhat_linux | — | Upgrade rsyncUpgrade rsync-daemonUpgrade rsync-rrsyncUpgrade rsync-debuginfoNo solution existsUpgrade rsync-debugsource | Aug 21, 2026 | Aug 13, 2026 |
| Rocky_linux | — | Upgrade rsync-debugsourceUpgrade rsync-debuginfoUpgrade rsync | Sep 17, 2026 | Sep 15, 2026 |
| Vmware Photon_os | — | Use 'tdnf update' to upgrade all packages to the latest version. | Sep 15, 2026 | Aug 13, 2026 |
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