High [CVE-2026-53785] Arbitrary file write via path traversal in --relative mode
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-53785 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
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Summary
rsync before 3.5.0 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows a malicious sender to write files outside the intended destination directory tree by crafting relative paths with symlink components in --relative mode.
The make_path() function follows symlinks pointing outside the destination tree while creating intermediate directories without verifying that created paths remain within the destination boundary, enabling arbitrary file writes on the receiver's filesystem.
This is an Important vulnerability in rsync where a malicious sender can achieve arbitrary file writes on a receiving system when the `--relative` mode is used. The risk is present in environments where rsync is configured to pull data from untrusted sources with the `--relative` option.
Red Hat severity: Important — CVSS 7.1 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H). Weakness: CWE-59.
Affected Red Hat products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4. Red Hat fixing advisory: RHSA-2026:67463, RHSA-2026:67462.
Affected products named by the advisory: Red Hat package: rsync.
- < 3.5.0
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 17 days ago·verify at source
- 3.5.0
- rsync-0:3.5.0-3.el10_2
- rsync-0:3.2.7-1.el9_8
- RHSA-2026:67463
- RHSA-2026:67462
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 17 days ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- To mitigate this issue, avoid using the rsync --relative (-R) option when synchronizing with untrusted senders. Because kernel-level symlink protections cannot prevent rsync from following malicious destination-tree symlinks created by the same executing user, strict sender verification is required. Restricting --relative operations to fully trusted sources prevents attackers from exploiting implied relative paths to achieve path traversal.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 17 days ago·verify at source
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