CVE-2026-53799 rsync < 3.5.0 Symlink Race Condition via ACL/xattr Application

What is CVE-2026-53799?

CVE-2026-53799 is a high-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 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.

Weakness: CWE-59, CWE-367

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53799?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Samba Rsync.

How do I fix CVE-2026-53799?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Is CVE-2026-53799 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53799 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-2026-53799, AZL-95849, BELL-CVE-2026-53799, CLSA-2026-1789554695, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53799, ECHO-641e-898c-c057 and 2 more.