# CVE-2026-53796: rsync < 3.5.0 TOCTOU Race Condition via Destination Directory Handling

> Attackers can exploit a race condition in rsync to redirect file writes to unintended locations, potentially modifying files or escalating privileges.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 13 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-53796, AZL-95816, BELL-CVE-2026-53796, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53796, ECHO-7caf-8f7e-885f, GHSA-w75h-ccff-w53m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53796

## What is CVE-2026-53796?

CVE-2026-53796 is a medium-severity 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 time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in the non-daemon receiver's destination directory handling that allows an attacker who can manipulate destination path parent components to redirect file writes to unintended locations. Attackers can substitute a symlink for a component of the destination path between the path resolution and chdir() call, causing the receiver's working directory to be established outside the intended destination tree so that subsequent relative-path file writes land in unintended filesystem locations.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53796?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-53796?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-53796 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-53796 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53796 is a medium-severity 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: RsyncProject rsync. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53796/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53796/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53796
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53796
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53796

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53796/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.