Vulnerability in Rsyncproject Rsync
CVE-2026-53794
rsync before 3.5.0 contains a logic error in --max-alloc handling that allows a sender or configuration setting --max-alloc=0 to disable allocation sanity checks entirely rather than enforcing a zero-byte cap. Attackers can exploit this flaw to cause the receiver to attempt unbounded memory allocations for file list and data structures, potentially exhausting available memory and causing a denial of service.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 5.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.005 (40.8th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 41st percentile — 40.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.005 · change: +0.001
Affected products
- Rsyncproject Rsync — versions 0, 3.5.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.5.0 (release-notes)
- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/security/advisories/GHSA-p827-vwcp-m964 (vendor-advisory)
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-denial-of-service-via-max-alloc-0-logic-error (third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-53794?
- CVE-2026-53794 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Rsyncproject Rsync, classified under Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2026-08-13.
- How severe is CVE-2026-53794?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.