Description
Rsync versions before 3.4.3 contain a time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in daemon file handling that allows attackers to redirect file writes outside intended directories by replacing parent directory components with symbolic links. Attackers with write access to a module path can exploit this race condition to create or overwrite arbitrary files, potentially modifying sensitive system files and achieving privilege escalation when the daemon runs with elevated privileges. This vulnerability can only be triggered if the chroot setting is false.
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HWeakness enumeration
Affected software
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| RsyncProject | rsync | < 3.4.3 |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.22 | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Discovery 2 | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | — |
References
- https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/pull/895/changes/8471fdd1561049ef5f58df44a1811a50bd9a531dPatch
- https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.4.3Release Notes
- https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2026-05-24-minimal-memory-safe-go-rsync-vulns/
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-toctou-race-condition-allows-symlink-based-arbitrary-file-writeThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26332
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26408
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26410
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29197
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54769
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-29518
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2469055
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-29518.json
Timeline
- Published
- May 20, 2026
- Last modified
- Aug 19, 2026
- NVD status
- Modified