CVE-2026-71309: rclone path traversal in serve restic command

CVE-2026-71309 · Severity: high · CVSS 4 · Published 2026-08-05

rclone is a command-line program used to manage files on cloud storage. A vulnerability in its 'serve restic' command allows unauthorized users to access, modify, or delete files outside of the specific folder intended to be shared. This could lead to the exposure of sensitive data or the unauthorized modification of system files if the storage backend is misconfigured.

Technologies: github.com/rclone/rclone (Go), Rclone. Vendors: Go, Rclone.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-71309 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-71309 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-71309?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 4, published 5 August 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
github.com/rclone/rclone (Go) >= 1.40.0, < 1.75.0, SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=1.75.0, SEMVER:introduced=1.40.0,fixed=1.75.0; Rclone >= 1.40.0, < 1.75.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-71309?
Yes. github.com/rclone/rclone (Go): upgrade to 1.75.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-71309 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-71309?
Check whether you run github.com/rclone/rclone (Go) or Rclone at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • github.com/rclone/rclone (Go): upgrade to 1.75.0 or later
    go get github.com/rclone/rclone@v1.75.0

Technical details

A path traversal vulnerability exists in the 'serve restic' command of rclone due to incomplete validation in the WithRemote middleware. The middleware uses path.Clean to validate incoming URL paths; however, path.Clean preserves leading '../' elements in relative paths, allowing them to bypass the check. When these paths are subsequently joined with the backend root using path.Join, the leading traversal elements can cause the resulting path to resolve outside the intended directory. Affected backends include WebDAV, FTP, HTTP, Memory, and SFTP. Attackers can exploit this to perform unauthorized file operations (GET, POST, DELETE) on the underlying storage. The issue is fixed in version 1.75.0.

Affected products

  • rclone rclone >= 1.40.0, < 1.75.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-71309
  • GHSA-45pq-889g-fcgh
  • GO-2026-6184

Timeline

  • 2026-08-05: advisory: GitHub Advisory GHSA-45pq-889g-fcgh published
  • 1.75.0: patched

References

This page as Markdown. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.