CVE-2026-53798

rsync tbefore 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.

Published 13 Aug 2026, 15:19 UTC Last modified 13 Aug 2026, 16:18 UTC

6.9

CVSS 4.0 MEDIUM base score

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/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

Attack profile

The conditions required to exploit this vulnerability and its potential impact.

Attack vector Network

Attack complexity Low

Privileges required None

User interaction None

Scope Not assessed

Confidentiality Not assessed

Integrity Not assessed

Availability Not assessed

Affected products

Product applicability statements supplied with the NVD record.

NVD has not published structured affected-product data for this record.

Weakness classification

CWE categories help security teams group the underlying software weakness.

CWECWE-704

Source references

External advisories, patches and technical reports attached to this CVE record.

NVD National Vulnerability Database recordnvd.nist.gov 01 Technical reference disclosure@vulncheck.com 02 Technical reference disclosure@vulncheck.com 03 Technical reference disclosure@vulncheck.com