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RcloneApplication

CVE-2026-49980

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.74.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Rclone is a command-line program to sync files and directories to and from different cloud storage providers. From 1.46.0 until 1.74.3, rclone rcd --rc-serve accepts unauthenticated GET and HEAD requests to paths of the form: /[remote:path]/object. The remote value is parsed from the URL and passed to normal backend initialization. Inline remote configuration can set backend options that execute local commands during initialization. As a result, a single unauthenticated GET or HEAD request can execute a command as the rclone process user. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.74.3.

In the news

Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 1 outlet this week · latest 2mo ago

Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Rclone versions 1.46.0 through 1.74.2 contain an authentication bypass in the rcd (remote control daemon) --rc-serve functionality. Unauthenticated attackers can send GET/HEAD requests to paths like /[remote:path]/object, where the remote value is parsed and passed to backend initialization. Inline remote configuration options can execute local commands during initialization, enabling complete command execution as the rclone process user.

MitigationUpgrade rclone to version 1.74.3 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, disable the rcd serve functionality or ensure rcd is not exposed to untrusted networks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
RcloneApplication
Affected:>= 1.46, < 1.74.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check rclone version
    Run 'rclone version' to see the installed version
    Affected if The version is >= 1.46 and < 1.74.3
  2. Identify if rcd/rc-serve is running
    Check running processes for 'rclone rcd' or 'rclone rc serve' or 'rclone serve' commands, or check systemd service files if rclone runs as a daemon
    Affected if rclone is running with the rcd or rc-serve component enabled (--rc, rcd, or serve flags)
  3. Verify RC authentication status
    Check the rclone process arguments or config for --rc-user, --rc-pass, --rc-auth, or 'auth: true' in rc config section. If these are absent, authentication is disabled.
    Affected if The RC serve endpoint has no authentication configured (no --rc-user/--rc-pass flags and no auth settings in rc configuration)
  4. Check if RC port is exposed
    Inspect firewall rules, container port mappings, or network binding settings (--rc-addr default is localhost:5572) to see if the RC port is accessible from untrusted networks
    Affected if The RC port (default 5572) is bound to 0.0.0.0 or an IP accessible from untrusted networks

A user is affected if they run rclone version 1.46 to 1.74.2 with the rc/rcd serve component exposed on a network without authentication configured.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.74.3 or later
Fixed in 1.74.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade rclone to version 1.74.3 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, disable the rcd serve functionality or ensure rcd is not exposed to untrusted networks.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.74.3

  1. Identify all systems running rclone with rcd --rc-serve enabled
  2. Check the current rclone version using 'rclone version'
  3. If the version is >= 1.46 and < 1.74.3, plan for upgrade
  4. Download rclone version 1.74.3 or later from the official GitHub releases (https://github.com/rclone/rclone/releases)
  5. Replace the existing rclone binary with the new version
  6. Restart any rclone rcd services to apply the update
  7. Verify the new version is running: rclone version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Rclone Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,330
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-49980 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data