rsync < 3.5.0 Arbitrary File Deletion via Malicious File List (RsyncProject rsync)

CVE-2026-53789
HIGH 7.1

At a glance

Source
NVD
EPSS
EPSS 0.36 % · percentile 29 ()
State
PUBLISHED
Published
Updated
Assigner
VulnCheck
NVD status
Analyzed

Description

rsync before 3.5.0 contains an improper path handling vulnerability that allows a malicious sender to expand the scope of --delete operations beyond the intended destination subtree by sending a crafted file list that causes rsync to reclassify implied parent directory entries or treat synthetic paths as the transfer root. Attackers can exploit multiple variants including implied parent reclassification, synthetic root path construction, legacy protocol behavior below version 30, and non-directory root handling to cause the receiver to delete files outside the authorized destination directory.

Weaknesses (CWE)

  • CWE-807 — Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision

References

Scores

VersionScoreVectorScored by
CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.1CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NVulnCheck
CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HVulnCheck
CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.1CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/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:XNVD · disclosure@vulncheck.com (Secondary)
CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HNVD · disclosure@vulncheck.com (Secondary)
CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:HNVD · nvd@nist.gov (Primary)

European references

Affected configurations (NVD CPE)

Affected products

ProductVersions
RsyncProject · rsyncaffected 0 ≤ 3.4.4 ; unaffected 3.5.0

Sources

SourceLicence
CVE List (CVEProject cvelistV5)CVE Program Terms of Use
EPSS (FIRST.org)FIRST — attribution requested
ENISA EUVDENISA — reproduction authorised, source acknowledged
NVD (NIST) via fkie-cad/nvd-json-data-feedsPublic domain — this product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD