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CVE-2026-53803
rsync < 3.5.0 Symlink Following Arbitrary File Overwrite
High8.5EPSS 0.23%
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- VulnCheck
Description
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.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| VulnCheckCNA (assigner) | 4.0 | High8.5 | 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 |
| VulnCheckCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | High7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 4.0 | High8.5 | 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 |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.23% · top 86% of all CVEs (6 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
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The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 8.5.
Weakness
Affected products
- affected ≤ 3.4.4
- unaffected 3.5.0
References (3)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2026-53803)Record last updated .