Vulnerability in Rsyncproject Rsync
CVE-2026-53799
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.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 6.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.001 (1.8th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 1.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: -0.000
Affected products
- Rsyncproject Rsync — versions 0, 3.5.0
- Samba Rsync
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.5.0 (release-notes, Product, Release Notes)
- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/security/advisories/GHSA-phxh-hjqv-39c9 (vendor-advisory, Vendor Advisory)
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-symlink-race-condition-via-acl-xattr-applica… (Third Party Advisory, Release Notes, third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-53799?
- CVE-2026-53799 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Rsyncproject Rsync, classified under Improper Link Resolution Before File Access. CVSS score: 6.3/10. Published 2026-08-13.
- How severe is CVE-2026-53799?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.3 out of 10.