CVE-2026-109518 APT RCE via hard link reuse
Description
On Debian, Ubuntu, and derivative Linux distributions, an on-path attacker who can manipulate the HTTP traffic (including a malicious mirror or proxy) between an APT client and an archive server triggered by a package install can trick the client into installing an attacker-controlled unverified package and achieve remote code execution with root privileges. The vulnerability is caused by the reuse of hard links and requires the client to follow redirects and retry the download of package files. It requires the client to have a non-zero Acquire::Retries configuration setting; the value 3 is the default starting with Debian 12 (bookworm) and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish), so older releases are unaffected in a default configuration
CVSS 4.0 detail
Vector CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitable remotely over the network, without an account and if a user takes an action; an attacker can seriously compromise confidentiality, integrity or availability.
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Privileges required
- None
- Interaction
- Passive
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
- Confidentiality of other systems
- None
- Integrity of other systems
- None
- Availability of other systems
- None
Affected products and versions
| Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| apt 3.3 | 3.3.0 → < 3.3.6 | 3.3.6 |
| apt 3.2 | 3.2.0 → < 3.2.1 | 3.2.1 |
| apt 3.0 | 3.0.0 → < 3.0.4 | 3.0.4 |
| apt 2.8 | 2.8.0 → < 2.8.4 | 2.8.4 |
| apt 2.6 | 2.6.0 → < 2.6.2 | 2.6.2 |
| apt 2.4 | 2.4.0 → < 2.4.15 | 2.4.15 |
| apt 2.2 | 2.2.0 → < 2.2.5 | 2.2.5 |
| apt 2.0 | 2.0.0 → < 2.0.12 | 2.0.12 |
| apt 1.8 | 1.8.0 → 1.8.5 | 1.8.2.4 |
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| Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| apt 1.6 | 1.6.0 → < 1.6.19 | 1.6.19 |
| apt 1.4 | 1.4.0 → < 1.4.12 | 1.4.12 |
| apt 1.2 | earliest → < 1.2.36 | 1.2.36 |
| APT 3.3 | 3.3.0 → < 3.3.3ubuntu0.1 | 3.3.3ubuntu0.1 |
| APT 3.2 | 3.2.0 → < 3.2.1ubuntu0.1 | 3.2.1ubuntu0.1 |
| APT 2.8 | 2.8.0 → < 2.8.4ubuntu0.1 | 2.8.4ubuntu0.1 |
| APT 2.4 | 2.4.0 → < 2.4.15ubuntu0.1 | 2.4.15ubuntu0.1 |
| APT 2.0 | 2.0.0 → < 2.0.12+esm1 | 2.0.12+esm1 |
| APT 1.6 | 1.6.0 → < 1.6.19+esm1 | 1.6.19+esm1 |
| APT 1.2 | 1.2.0 → < 1.2.36+esm1 | 1.2.36+esm1 |
| APT 1.0 | earliest → < 1.0.1ubuntu2.24+esm4 | 1.0.1ubuntu2.24+esm4 |
References
- lists.debian.org lists.debian.org
- ubuntu.com ubuntu.com
Timeline
- Published
- Last modified