CVE-2026-53794
Description
rsync before 3.5.0 contains a logic error in --max-alloc handling that allows a sender or configuration setting --max-alloc=0 to disable allocation sanity checks entirely rather than enforcing a zero-byte cap. Attackers can exploit this flaw to cause the receiver to attempt unbounded memory allocations for file list and data structures, potentially exhausting available memory and causing a denial of service.
Predictions
Heuristic predictions, AS-IS, for prioritization only.
Mitigations
No mitigations published for this CVE yet.
The vendor-content worker queues fetches as references arrive (check back in a few minutes). Or — if you've already worked around this in production — publish your fix to the community-verified tier.
Propose a mitigation on Community Mitigations published via the community go through AI scoring + 2 human reviewers + 7-day silent objection window before landing here withsource_tier=community-verified.
OS impact
Debian Affected 5 releases
| Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| trixie | Affected | — |
| sid | Affected | — |
| forky | Affected | — |
| bullseye | Affected | — |
| bookworm | Affected | — |
SUSE Affected 1 release
| Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| — | Affected | — |
References
- https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-53794.html
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-53794
- https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/releases/tag/v3.5.0
- https://github.com/RsyncProject/rsync/security/advisories/GHSA-p827-vwcp-m964
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rsync-denial-of-service-via-max-alloc-0-logic-error
CWEs
CWE-1284
Community-verified mitigations for this CVE will appear above when contributors publish them.
Verify integrity in audit chain (admin only). AS-IS.