CVE-2026-53792
Description
A flaw was found in rsync. A malicious receiver can exploit an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the sender-side block matching logic. By sending a specially crafted checksum block with a length of zero, an attacker can trigger memory access before the start of an allocated buffer. This can lead to a denial of service on the sender side.
Statement
A Moderate denial of service flaw exists in rsync, where a malicious receiver can trigger an out-of-bounds read on the sending system. This vulnerability requires the sender to connect to a specially crafted malicious rsync server, which can lead to service disruption of file synchronization operations.
Mitigation
Disable unused rsyncd services (systemctl disable --now rsyncd), and if actively serving files, restrict port 873 to trusted clients to prevent untrusted pull requests from crashing the daemon. When operating as a client, only push data (rsync src/ host:dst/) to fully trusted receivers, as the out-of-bounds read is triggered by the receiving end.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | N/A | 6.5 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Use of an index that is outside the bounds of an array will very likely result in the corruption of relevant memory and perhaps instructions, leading to a crash, if the values are outside of the valid memory area.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
If the memory corrupted is data, rather than instructions, the system will continue to function with improper values.
Confidentiality,Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Read Memory
Use of an index that is outside the bounds of an array can also trigger out-of-bounds read or write operations, or operations on the wrong objects; i.e., "buffer overflows" are not always the result. This may result in the exposure or modification of sensitive data.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If the memory accessible by the attacker can be effectively controlled, it may be possible to execute arbitrary code, as with a standard buffer overflow and possibly without the use of large inputs if a precise index can be controlled.
Integrity,Availability,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
A single fault could allow either an overflow (CWE-788) or underflow (CWE-786) of the array index. What happens next will depend on the type of operation being performed out of bounds, but can expose sensitive information, cause a system crash, or possibly lead to arbitrary code execution.
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