7.3
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-29518
Rsync < 3.4.3 TOCTOU Race Condition Allows Symlink-Based Arbitrary File Write
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.

INFO

Published Date :

May 20, 2026, 1:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

May 20, 2026, 1:58 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-29518 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 4.0 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update Rsync to version 3.4.3 or later to fix the TOCTOU race condition.
  • Update Rsync to version 3.4.3 or later.
  • Ensure the chroot setting is enabled in daemon configuration.
  • Apply vendor patches immediately.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-29518 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-29518 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-29518 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-29518 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    May. 20, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added 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.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-367
    Added Reference https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/pull/895/changes/8471fdd1561049ef5f58df44a1811a50bd9a531d
    Added Reference https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.4.3
    Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-toctou-race-condition-allows-symlink-based-arbitrary-file-write
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.