CVE-2026-88016: rclone Link Following

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-88016 is a high (CVSS 7.1) Link Following vulnerability in rclone. EPSS estimates a 0.19% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 7.7% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 10-09-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 15-09-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

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.

• CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
• CWE-281Improper Preservation of PermissionsThe product does not preserve permissions or incorrectly preserves permissions when copying, restoring, or sharing objects, which can cause them to have less restrictive permissions than intended.