Out-of-tree metadata changes via planted symlink
Published Sep 10, 2026 · Updated Sep 10, 2026
Link following in Rclone rclone before 1.75.1 allows attackers to alter out-of-tree file metadata through an untrusted source. MkdirMetadata, writeMetadataToFile, and setTimes invoke following chmod, chown, and time operations on a planted symlink instead of confining them through os.Root. Exploitation requires a victim to copy or sync attacker-controlled contents with --links; --metadata is additionally required for ownership and permission changes, while modification-time changes occur in the normal directory workflow.
Summary
What happened
Link following in Rclone rclone before 1.75.1 allows attackers to alter out-of-tree file metadata through an untrusted source. MkdirMetadata, writeMetadataToFile, and setTimes invoke following chmod, chown, and time operations on a planted symlink instead of confining them through os.Root. Exploitation requires a victim to copy or sync attacker-controlled contents with --links; --metadata is additionally required for ownership and permission changes, while modification-time changes occur in the normal directory workflow.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-88016
- Published
- Sep 10, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Rclone
- Product
- rclone
- Classifications
- CWE-281, CWE-59, T1222.002
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 10, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 1.75.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Upstream planted-symlink metadata proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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