CVE-2026-53784 rsync < 3.5.0 Path Traversal via Symlink Module Root

What is CVE-2026-53784?

CVE-2026-53784 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in RsyncProject rsync, published on 13 Aug 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

rsync before 3.5.0 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows remote clients to access files outside the intended module root when use chroot is disabled and the module root path or a component of it is a symlink. The daemon calls chdir() to the module root at session initialization without resolving symlinks via realpath() or equivalent, causing subsequent relative-path operations to reference files relative to the symlink target rather than the intended module root, enabling unauthorized file access.

Weakness: CWE-59

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53784?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Samba Rsync.

How do I fix CVE-2026-53784?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2026-53784 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53784 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in RsyncProject rsync

• CVE-2017-15994 Security feature bypass in n/a Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-53791 rsync < 3.5.0 Daemon IP Spoofing via PROXY Protocol Header Critical 9.1
• CVE-2026-70461 rsync 3.2.5 < 3.5.0 Heap Out-of-Bounds Write via files-from Entry High 8.8
• CVE-2026-70455 rsync 3.4.2 < 3.5.0 DoS via --zt Zstandard Compression Thread Exhaustion High 8.7
• CVE-2026-70463 rsync 3.1.0 < 3.5.0 Authorization Bypass via auth users Directive Parsing High 8.6

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2026-53784, AZL-95852, BELL-CVE-2026-53784, CLSA-2026-1788816057, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53784, ECHO-660c-ef4b-715c and 3 more.