rsync could be made to crash or run programs as your login if it connected to a malicious server.
It was discovered that rsync incorrectly handled memory when certain recursion, deletion and ownership options were used. If a user were tricked into connecting to a malicious server, a remote attacker could cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code with privileges of the user invoking the program.
27 April 2011
A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:
rsync could be made to crash or run programs as your login if it connected to a malicious server.
It was discovered that rsync incorrectly handled memory when certain recursion, deletion and ownership options were used. If a user were tricked into connecting to a malicious server, a remote attacker could cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code with privileges of the user invoking the program.
The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:
To update your system, please follow these instructions: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Upgrades.
In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.
Vulmon