# CVE-2026-70459: rsync 3.0.0 < 3.5.0 Daemon Crash via Malformed File List Entry

> Remote attackers can crash the rsync daemon by sending a malformed file list, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 13 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-70459, AZL-95831, BELL-CVE-2026-70459, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-70459, ECHO-6d1c-53b2-c07c, GHSA-p4v4-qxw9-q72m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-70459

## What is CVE-2026-70459?

CVE-2026-70459 is a medium-severity vulnerability in RsyncProject rsync, published on 13 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

rsync 3.0.0 before 3.5.0 contains a null pointer dereference vulnerability in the daemon child process that allows remote attackers to crash the daemon by sending a file list whose first entry is a dot entry not typed as a directory. The daemon dereferences the first file list entry as a directory structure pointer without verifying the entry type, resulting in an invalid or uninitialized pointer dereference that terminates the client connection.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-70459?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Samba Rsync.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-70459?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-70459 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-70459 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in RsyncProject rsync

- [CVE-2017-15994](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15994/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-53791](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53791/): rsync < 3.5.0 Daemon IP Spoofing via PROXY Protocol Header (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-70461](https://insights.sbomify.com/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](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-70455/): rsync 3.4.2 < 3.5.0 DoS via --zt Zstandard Compression Thread Exhaustion (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2026-70463](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-70463/): rsync 3.1.0 < 3.5.0 Authorization Bypass via auth users Directive Parsing (high 8.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-70459 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-70459 is a medium-severity vulnerability in RsyncProject rsync, published on 13 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-70459 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-2026-70459/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-70459/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-70459
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-70459
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-70459

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-70459/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.