rsync < 3.5.0 Arbitrary File Deletion via Malicious File List
rsync before 3.5.0 contains an improper path handling vulnerability that allows a malicious sender to expand the scope of --delete operations beyond the intended destination subtree by sending a crafted file list that causes rsync to reclassify implied parent directory entries or treat synthetic paths as the transfer root. Attackers can exploit multiple variants including implied parent reclassification, synthetic root path construction, legacy protocol behavior below version 30, and non-directory root handling to cause the receiver to delete files outside the authorized destination directory.
- Published
- Aug 13, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 31, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.5% · 43th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-807
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Report tools
Action score
28
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 28 / 40 · 7.1 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.5%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · VulnCheck
- 7.1
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| samba | rsync | cpe:2.3:a:samba:rsync |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- samba rsyncbefore 3.5.0
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (VulnCheck). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
RsyncProject rsync
- 3.5.0not affected
- up to and including 3.4.4affected · semver
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux:10 | rsync | before 3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | rsync-daemon | before 3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | rsync-rrsync | before 3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | rsync | before 3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | rsync-daemon | before 3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | rsync-rrsync | before 3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| Alpine:v3.21 | rsync | before 3.5.0-r0 | 3.5.0-r0 |
| Debian:12 | rsync | all versions | — |
| Debian:13 | rsync | before 3.5.0+ds1-0+deb13u1 | 3.5.0+ds1-0+deb13u1 |
| Debian:14 | rsync | before 3.5.0+ds1-1 | 3.5.0+ds1-1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | rsync | before 3.4.1-160000.6.1 | 3.4.1-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | rsync | before 3.5.1-1.1 | 3.5.1-1.1 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | rsync | before 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | rsync-daemon | before 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | rsync-debuginfo | before 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | rsync-debugsource | before 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | rsync-rrsync | before 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | rsync-daemon | before 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | rsync-rrsync | before 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | rsync | before 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | rsync-debuginfo | before 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | rsync-debugsource | before 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
| Rocky Linux:10 | rsync | before 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 | 0:3.5.0-3.el10_2 |
| Rocky Linux:9 | rsync | before 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 |
+5
Same product
samba: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2024-12084Rsync: heap buffer overflow in rsync due to improper checksum length handling61This week
- CVE-2017-16548The receive_xattr function in xattrs.c in rsync 3.1.2 and 3.1.3-development does not check for a trailing '\0' character in an xattr name, w41Plan
- CVE-2017-17434The daemon in rsync 3.1.2, and 3.1.3-development before 2017-12-03, does not check for fnamecmp filenames in the daemon_filter_list data str40Plan
- CVE-2017-15994rsync 3.1.3-development before 2017-10-24 mishandles archaic checksums, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass intended access39Monitor
- CVE-2026-53791rsync < 3.5.0 Daemon IP Spoofing via PROXY Protocol Header36Monitor
- CVE-2026-70461rsync 3.2.5 < 3.5.0 Heap Out-of-Bounds Write via files-from Entry35Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| almalinux:rsync | 3.2.7-1.el9_8 · AlmaLinux:9 | Package registry (OSV) |
| almalinux:rsync-daemon | 3.2.7-1.el9_8 · AlmaLinux:9 | Package registry (OSV) |
| almalinux:rsync-rrsync | 3.2.7-1.el9_8 · AlmaLinux:9 | Package registry (OSV) |
| alpine:rsync | 3.5.0-r0 · Alpine:v3.21 | Package registry (OSV) |
| debian:rsync | 3.5.0+ds1-0+deb13u1 · Debian:13 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:rsync | 3.5.1-1.1 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:rsync | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:rsync-daemon | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:rsync-debuginfo | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:rsync-debugsource | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:rsync-rrsync | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | Package registry (OSV) |
| rocky linux:rsync | 0:3.2.7-1.el9_8 · Rocky Linux:9 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:rsync | 3.2.7-8.1 · SUSE:Linux Micro 6.0 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- revampstudiofinder
- fcasalfinder
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- P
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-807 · Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security DecisionCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/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
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/security/advisories/GHSA-fxwg-7hmf-xh5q
- github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.5.0
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-arbitrary-file-deletion-via-malicious-file-list
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.