Rsync pre-3.5.0 Priv Conf in name-conv uid/gid mapping root file ownership
CVE-2026-53798 Published on August 13, 2026
rsync < 3.5.0 Privilege Confusion via name-converter uid/gid mapping
rsync before 3.5.0 contains a privilege confusion vulnerability in the name-converter subprocess uid/gid mapping that allows local attackers to cause transferred files to be owned by root by influencing name-converter responses to return empty values. When the name-converter subprocess returns an empty response for a uid or gid lookup, rsync incorrectly interprets it as a successful resolution to uid/gid 0 (root) rather than a lookup failure, and if the name-converter also signals fake super-user status, rsync proceeds with root ownership assignments for transferred files.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-53798 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity and availability.
Weakness Type
Incorrect Type Conversion or Cast
The software does not correctly convert an object, resource, or structure from one type to a different type.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-53798
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Affected Versions
RsyncProject rsync:- Before and including 3.4.4 is affected.
- Version 3.5.0 is unaffected.