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Vulnerability · Published Aug 13, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck

CVE-2026-53800rsync < 3.5.0 Symlink Race Condition via --remove-source-files

Medium 4.7

In plain English

A medium-severity security flaw in rsync from RsyncProject. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.1% (higher than 4% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)4.7Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.1%top 96.5% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

rsync before 3.5.0 contains a symlink race condition vulnerability in the --remove-source-files feature that allows attackers with symlink creation access to cause arbitrary file deletion. Attackers can atomically substitute a symlink for a source file between transfer completion and the unlink() call, causing rsync to delete the symlink target rather than the intended source file.

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Alpine:v3.21rsync3.5.0-r0ALPINE-CVE-2026-53800
Alpine:v3.22rsync3.5.0-r0ALPINE-CVE-2026-53800
Alpine:v3.23rsync3.5.0-r0ALPINE-CVE-2026-53800
Alpine:v3.24rsync3.5.0-r0ALPINE-CVE-2026-53800
Debian:12rsyncno fix listedDEBIAN-CVE-2026-53800
Debian:13rsync3.5.0+ds1-0+deb13u1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53800
Debian:14rsync3.5.0+ds1-1DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53800
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSrsyncno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-53800
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSrsyncno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-53800
Ubuntu:26.04:LTSrsyncno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-53800
Ubuntu:26.10rsyncno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2026-53800

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
RsyncProject rsync 0 – through 3.4.4

Weakness: CWE-59, CWE-367 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References