Rsync version 3.4.2 and prior contain a receiver-side out-of-bounds array read vulnerability in recv_files() in receiver.c that allows a malicious rsync server to crash the rsync client process. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by setting CF_INC_RECURSE in compatibility flags and sending a specially crafted file list where the first sorted entry is not the leading dot directory, followed by a transfer record with ndx=0 and an iflag word without ITEM_TRANSFER, causing the receiver to read 8 bytes before the allocated pointer array and dereference an invalid pointer at an unmapped address, resulting in a deterministic SIGSEGV crash of the rsync client.
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-out-of-bounds-array-read-via-recv-files
https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/security/advisories/GHSA-28pw-r563-rxvm
Published: 2026-05-20
Updated: 2026-05-20
Base Score: 7.8
Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
Severity: High
Base Score: 6.5
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Severity: Medium
Base Score: 6.9
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Severity: Medium