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rsync EUVDEUVD-2026-58089

| CVE-2026-53803 HIGH
Improper Link Resolution Before File Access (CWE-59)
2026-08-13 VulnCheck
8.5
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
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Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY
8.5 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
vuln.today AI
7.8 HIGH

Local attack (AV:L), low complexity to pre-position symlink (AC:L), low privileges sufficient (PR:L); scope unchanged because the elevated context belongs to rsync's own runtime, not a separate component.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE
7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat
7.0 HIGH
qualitative

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
X

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Source Code Evidence Fetched
Aug 13, 2026 - 15:50 vuln.today
Analysis Generated
Aug 13, 2026 - 15:50 vuln.today
CVE Published
Aug 13, 2026 - 14:33 cve.org
HIGH 8.5

DescriptionCVE.org

rsync before 3.5.0 contains a symlink following vulnerability that allows local attackers to overwrite arbitrary files by placing a symlink at a predictable output path such as --log-file, --write-batch, or daemon-mode log and statistics paths. Attackers can exploit rsync's failure to reject symlinks during ancillary file writes to redirect output to arbitrary filesystem locations, achieving local privilege escalation on installations where rsync runs with elevated privileges such as setuid or privileged daemon configurations.

AnalysisAI

Symlink following in rsync before 3.5.0 enables local privilege escalation by allowing a low-privileged attacker to redirect ancillary file writes - such as log files, batch files, or daemon statistics - to arbitrary filesystem locations. Affected installations are those where rsync executes with elevated privileges, specifically setuid binaries or privileged daemon configurations, making the impact proportional to how widely such configurations are deployed. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, but the CVSS 4.0 score of 8.5 and the designation of v3.5.0 as a 'major security release' by the rsync maintainers signal this is treated as a high-severity finding.

Technical ContextAI

rsync (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:rsyncproject:rsync:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) is a widely-used open-source file synchronization tool that supports local and remote transfers. CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access, colloquially 'link following') describes the root cause: when rsync writes to ancillary output paths such as --log-file, --write-batch, or daemon-mode log and statistics paths, it fails to verify that the target path is not a symbolic link before opening it for writing. Because these paths are often predictable (e.g., derived from known configurations or defaults), a local attacker can pre-position a symlink at that path pointing to a sensitive file. When rsync then opens the path for writing, it follows the symlink and overwrites the symlink's target rather than writing to the intended location. This class of vulnerability is well-understood in Unix-like systems and is particularly dangerous when the writing process holds elevated privileges, as is the case with setuid rsync binaries or rsync daemon processes running as root.

RemediationAI

Upgrade rsync to version 3.5.0 or later; this is the vendor-confirmed fix as documented at https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.5.0 and in the security advisory https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/security/advisories/GHSA-g9f4-7q66-9582. Distribution maintainers should ship updated packages promptly for any distro that installs rsync setuid or configures a privileged rsync daemon. As a compensating control where patching is not immediately possible, remove the setuid bit from the rsync binary (chmod u-s $(which rsync)) if rsync does not require setuid operation - note this may break workflows depending on elevated access for certain transfers. Alternatively, configure rsync daemon instances to run under a minimally privileged dedicated account rather than root, limiting the damage of any successful symlink attack. Restrict write access to directories containing rsync log and statistics files so that unprivileged users cannot pre-position symlinks at those paths. Review all rsync daemon configurations for log-file and batch-file path predictability and consider randomizing or protecting those paths.

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 Affected

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EUVD-2026-58089 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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