CVE-2026-41179: RClone: Unauthenticated operations/fsinfo allows attacker-controlled backend instantiation and local command execution

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• Not in CISA KEV, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
• EPSS 5.3%, percentile 93: FIRST’s model estimates a 5.3% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 93% of all scored CVEs (elevated). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes github.com/rclone/rclone (Go) >= 1.48.0, <= 1.73.4, fixed in 1.73.5. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

Rclone is a command-line program to sync files and directories to and from different cloud storage providers. Starting in version 1.48.0 and prior to version 1.73.5, the RC endpoint operations/fsinfo is exposed without AuthRequired: true and accepts attacker-controlled fs input. Because rc.GetFs(...) supports inline backend definitions, an unauthenticated attacker can instantiate an attacker-controlled backend on demand. For the WebDAV backend, bearertokencommand is executed during backend initialization, making single-request unauthenticated local command execution possible on reachable RC deployments without global HTTP authentication. Version 1.73.5 patches the issue.

From the GitHub advisory

Summary The RC endpoint operations/fsinfo is exposed without AuthRequired: true and accepts attacker-controlled fs input. Because rc.GetFs(...) supports inline backend definitions, an unauthenticated attacker can instantiate an attacker-controlled backend on demand. For the WebDAV backend, bearertokencommand is executed during backend initialization, making single-request unauthenticated local command execution possible on reachable RC deployments without global HTTP authentication.

Preconditions

Preconditions for this vulnerability are:

- The rclone remote control API must be enabled, either by the --rc flag or by running the rclone rcd server - The remote control API must be reachable by the attacker - by default rclone only serves the rc to localhost unless the --rc-addr flag is in use - The rc must have been deployed without global RC HTTP authentication - so not using --rc-user/--rc-pass/--rc-htpasswd/etc

Details The root cause consists of the following pieces:

Weakness type: CWE-78, CWE-306, CWE-94.

Product: github.com/rclone/rclone (Go) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-04-23

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Attack requirements: present (depends on deployment conditions)
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 5.30% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 93.

Timeline

• 2026-04-22 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-jfwf-28xr-xw6q published (critical)
• 2026-04-23 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2026-07-15 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-jfwf-28xr-xw6q github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-41179 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-41179 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com
4. github.com github.com
5. github.com github.com
6. github.com github.com
7. rclone.org rclone.org
8. access.redhat.com access.redhat.com
9. RHBZ#2460988 bugzilla.redhat.com
10. security.access.redhat.com security.access.redhat.com

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