GHSA-p6m2-r3w9-mpxw: Integer Overflow
Summary When backend/local is used with --links/-l (or the links=true config option), each symlink is exposed as an rclone object whose content is the target path string, suffixed .rclonelink. Object.Open() decodes an incoming fs.RangeOption via Decode(o.Size()), then for a translated-symlink object passes the decoded offset straight into openTranslatedLink, which indexes the target string directly: linkdst[offset:].
RangeOption.Decode's Start >= 0 branch (an ordinary Range: bytes=X- request) sets offset = o.Start with no upper bound, unlike its suffix-range branch (Start < 0, e.g. bytes=-N), which already clamps a too-large value to 0 - the fix for a prior, related crash (issue #6310: "bytes=-90407" against a 5-byte object panicked with "slice bounds out of range", now covered by an existing regression test). The Start >= 0 branch never received the analogous protection.
A Range: bytes=<hugeStart>- request sent to rclone serve http/webdav (or any consumer of lib/http/serve's Object(), which parses and decodes the client's own Range header) against a directory containing a symlink therefore reaches linkdst[offset:] with offset far beyond the target string's length, and Go panics with "slice bounds out of range" instead of returning an empty read.
Details Vulnerable code (before fix): go func (o Object) openTranslatedLink(offset, limit int64) (lrc io.ReadCloser, err error) { linkdst, err := os.Readlink(o.path) if err != nil { return nil, err } return readers.NewLimitedReadCloser(io.NopCloser(strings.NewReader(linkdst[offset:])), limit), nil }
PoC Called the real production Object.Open() on a translated-symlink object (target length 12) with &fs.RangeOption{Start: math.MaxInt64, End: -1}: panic: runtime error: slice bounds out of range [9223372036854775807:8] ...backend/local.(Object).openTranslatedLink ...backend/local.(Object).Open
Impact A remote client can send a single crafted Range header against any symlink-backed object exposed by rclone serve http/webdav/etc (backed by backend/local with --links enabled) to deterministically panic the request-handling goroutine. Go's net/http recovers panics per-connection by default, so this fails the one request/connection rather than crashing the whole server process, and no file handle is left open (the panic occurs before any read handle is acquired) - but it is fully deterministic and remotely triggerable with no authentication or race window needed, unlike some other panic-recovery findings.
Fix Clamp offset to the length of the target string before slicing, matching how a real file read past EOF behaves (an empty read): go if offset > int64(len(linkdst)) { offset = int64(len(linkdst)) } Note: the shared RangeOption.Decode() also has a related, unaddressed issue - limit = o.End - o.Start + 1 can itself overflow to a large negative number for a huge End - but a fix attempted there during this investigation broke fs/operations/reopen.go's NewReOpen, which calls Decode with its h.end field still at its zero value at that point in construction. Flagged for awareness but not changed here to keep this patch minimal and low-risk.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
go/github.com/rclone/rcloneto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.75.1
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which deployments are exposed?
Deployments using backend/local with --links/-l or links=true are exposed when they serve a directory containing symlinks through rclone serve http, rclone serve webdav, or another consumer of lib/http/serve's Object() handler.
What does an attacker need to trigger the issue?
An attacker needs network access to the affected HTTP or WebDAV service and the ability to request a translated symlink object. No credentials or user interaction are indicated by the supplied severity vector; a Range request with an excessively large starting byte offset triggers the condition.
What can be done if patching is not immediately possible?
Disable translated-symlink handling by removing --links/-l or setting links=false where feasible. Also avoid exposing directories containing symlinks through the affected HTTP-serving paths until the deployment can be updated.
How can I determine whether a service is at risk?
Check whether the service uses backend/local with links enabled and whether its exposed directories contain symlinks. Then identify whether those directories are available through rclone's HTTP/WebDAV serving functions or another lib/http/serve Object() consumer.