Rclone up to 1.75.0 Local MkdirMetadata/writeMetadataToFile/setTimes symlink

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Rclone up to 1.75.0. The impacted element is the function MkdirMetadata/writeMetadataToFile/setTimes of the component Local. This manipulation causes symlink. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-88016. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Rclone up to 1.75.0. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function MkdirMetadata/writeMetadataToFile/setTimes of the component Local. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a symlink vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-61. The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

rclone is a command-line program to sync files and directories to and from different cloud storage providers. Prior to 1.75.1, when backend/local runs with --links, a source .rclonelink object can plant a symlink in the destination and later directory metadata is applied through that path. MkdirMetadata, writeMetadataToFile, and setTimes operate when Directory.translatedLink=false, so os.Chown, os.Chmod, os.Chtimes, and birth-time handling can bypass os.Root confinement and follow the symlink. An attacker controlling source contents can therefore apply selected ownership, permissions, modification times, or birth times to a file or directory outside the destination, with --metadata required for chmod and chown while modification time is applied by the normal directory workflow. This issue is fixed in version 1.75.1.

The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-88016 since 09/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 1.75.1 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Name

• Rclone

Version

• 1.0
• 1.1
• 1.2
• 1.3
• 1.4
• 1.5
• 1.6
• 1.7
• 1.8
• 1.9
• 1.10
• 1.11
• 1.12
• 1.13
• 1.14
• 1.15
• 1.16
• 1.17
• 1.18
• 1.19
• 1.20
• 1.21
• 1.22
• 1.23
• 1.24
• 1.25
• 1.26
• 1.27
• 1.28
• 1.29
• 1.30
• 1.31
• 1.32
• 1.33
• 1.34
• 1.35
• 1.36
• 1.37
• 1.38
• 1.39
• 1.40
• 1.41
• 1.42
• 1.43
• 1.44
• 1.45
• 1.46
• 1.47
• 1.48
• 1.49
• 1.50
• 1.51
• 1.52
• 1.53
• 1.54
• 1.55
• 1.56
• 1.57
• 1.58
• 1.59
• 1.60
• 1.61
• 1.62
• 1.63
• 1.64
• 1.65
• 1.66
• 1.67
• 1.68
• 1.69
• 1.70
• 1.71
• 1.72
• 1.73
• 1.74
• 1.75.0

Website

• Product: https://github.com/rclone/rclone/

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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