CVE-2026-53800 rsync < 3.5.0 Symlink Race Condition via --remove-source-files
Attackers can delete arbitrary files by exploiting a symlink race condition in rsync's --remove-source-files feature.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-53800?
CVE-2026-53800 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 symlink race condition vulnerability in the --remove-source-files feature that allows attackers with symlink creation access to cause arbitrary file deletion. Attackers can atomically substitute a symlink for a source file between transfer completion and the unlink() call, causing rsync to delete the symlink target rather than the intended source file.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53800?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Samba Rsync.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53800?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Is CVE-2026-53800 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53800 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in RsyncProject rsync
- CVE-2017-15994 Security feature bypass in n/a
- CVE-2026-53791 rsync < 3.5.0 Daemon IP Spoofing via PROXY Protocol Header
- CVE-2026-70461 rsync 3.2.5 < 3.5.0 Heap Out-of-Bounds Write via files-from Entry
- CVE-2026-70455 rsync 3.4.2 < 3.5.0 DoS via --zt Zstandard Compression Thread Exhaustion
- CVE-2026-70463 rsync 3.1.0 < 3.5.0 Authorization Bypass via auth users Directive Parsing
Sources
Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2026-53800, AZL-95768, BELL-CVE-2026-53800, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53800, ECHO-5cfe-83a6-5dea, GHSA-v3vw-pvpg-chwh and 1 more.