Description
Rsync version 3.4.2 and prior contain symlink race condition vulnerabilities in path-based system calls including chmod, lchown, utimes, rename, unlink, mkdir, symlink, mknod, link, rmdir, and lstat that allow local attackers to redirect operations to files outside the exported rsync module. Attackers with local filesystem access can exploit the timing window between path resolution and syscall execution by swapping symlinks to apply sender-supplied permissions, ownership, timestamps, or filenames to arbitrary files outside the intended module boundary on rsync daemons configured with 'use chroot = no'.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| RsyncProject | rsync | < 3.4.3 | 3.4.3 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | rsync | 3.4.3+ds1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | rsync | 3.4.1+ds1-5+deb13u3 | — |
| Debian 12 | rsync | 3.2.7-1+deb12u5 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | rsync | 3.4.1+ds1-7ubuntu0.2 | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | rsync | 3.4.1+ds1-5ubuntu1.2 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | rsync | 3.2.7-1ubuntu1.4 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | rsync | 3.2.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.6 | — |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | rsync | 3.1.3-8ubuntu0.9+esm1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | rsync | 3.1.2-2.1ubuntu1.6+esm3 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | rsync | 3.1.1-3ubuntu1.3+esm5 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | rsync | 3.1.0-2ubuntu0.4+esm3 | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP5 | rsync | 3.1.3-3.46.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3629-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | rsync | 3.4.1-160000.4.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23323-1, SUSE-SU-2026:22015-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | rsync | 3.4.1-160000.4.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23323-1, SUSE-SU-2026:22015-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | rsync | 3.4.1-160000.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23289-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | rsync | 3.2.7-8.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23253-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | rsync | 3.4.3-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:10857-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | rsync | 3.4.1-160000.6.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21650-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | rsync | 3.4.3-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | rsync | 3.4.3-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | rsync | 3.4.3-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | rsync | 3.4.3-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | rsync | 3.4.3-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | rsync +1 | 3.5.1-1.amzn2023.0.1 | ALAS2023-2026-3131 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | rsync | 3.4.3-1 | — |
Advisories 11
- WID-SEC-2026-2455 Oracle Solaris Drittanbieterkomponenten: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-2817 Rsync: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 8, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-1611 Rsync: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-3131 Important: rsync security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Sep 28, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23323-1 Security update for rsync SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23289-1 Security update for rsync SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23253-1 Security update for rsync SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 27, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21650-1 Security update for rsync SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 27, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3629-1 Security update for rsync SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 18, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22015-1 Security update for rsync SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jun 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:10857-1 rsync-3.4.3-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 25, 2026
References
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-4h9m-w5ff-j735) vendor-advisory
- rsync 3.4.3 Release Notes release-notes
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-symlink-race-condition-via-path-based-syscalls third-party-advisory