CVE-2026-88016 rclone: Directory metadata (chmod/chown/chtimes) applied through a planted symlink in rclone local --links escapes the destination
An attacker can use planted symlinks to modify permissions or ownership of files outside the destination directory when using specific rclone flags.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-88016?
CVE-2026-88016 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in rclone, published on 10 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
rclone is a command-line program to sync files and directories to and from different cloud storage providers. Prior to 1.75.1, when backend/local runs with --links, a source .rclonelink object can plant a symlink in the destination and later directory metadata is applied through that path. MkdirMetadata, writeMetadataToFile, and setTimes operate when Directory.translatedLink=false, so os.Chown, os.Chmod, os.Chtimes, and birth-time handling can bypass os.Root confinement and follow the symlink. An attacker controlling source contents can therefore apply selected ownership, permissions, modification times, or birth times to a file or directory outside the destination, with --metadata required for chmod and chown while modification time is applied by the normal directory workflow. This issue is fixed in version 1.75.1.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-88016?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/rclone/rclone and rclone. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/rclone/rclone Go | All versions | 1.75.1 |
github.com/rclone/rclone Go | All versions | 1.75.1 |
github.com/rclone/rclone Go | All versions | 1.75.1 |
rclone Bitnami | All versions | 1.75.1 |
Products include Rclone Rclone.
How do I fix CVE-2026-88016?
Upgrade github.com/rclone/rclone to 1.75.1 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-88016 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-88016 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in rclone
- CVE-2026-88018 rclone serve s3: --auth-proxy without --auth-key authenticates nobody - full SigV4 signature bypass
- CVE-2026-49980 Rclone: Unauthenticated command execution in `rclone rcd --rc-serve` via inline remote instantiation, bypassing CVE-2026-41179 fix
- CVE-2026-41179 RClone: Unauthenticated operations/fsinfo allows attacker-controlled backend instantiation and local command execution
- CVE-2026-41176 Rclone: Unauthenticated options/set allows runtime auth bypass, leading to sensitive operations and command execution
- CVE-2026-59733 rclone `serve restic --private-repos` authorization bypass: `..` in the URL path lets an authenticated user read, overwrite and delete other users' repositories
Sources
Also known as BIT-rclone-2026-88016, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-88016, GHSA-f8g7-2xjc-7mfh, GO-2026-6459, MINI-59cc-cq32-748j, MINI-7fg6-4mmr-ph8x and 7 more.