Apport race condition in crash report permissions
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Time-of-check Time-of-use Race Condition vulnerability on crash report ownership change in Apport allows for a possible privilege escalation opportunity. If fs.protected_symlinks is disabled, this can be exploited between the os.open and os.chown calls when the Apport cron script clears out crash files of size 0. A symlink with the same name as the deleted file can then be created upon which chown will be called, changing the file owner to root. Fixed in versions 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.23, 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14, 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8 and 2.20.11-0ubuntu22.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canonical | Apport | 2.20.1 to before 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.23; 2.20.9 to before 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14; 2.20.11 to before 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8 | 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.23, 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14, 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8 | Patch available | CNA |
- Apport VendorCanonical Affected 2.20.1 to before 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.23; 2.20.9 to before 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14; 2.20.11 to before 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8 Fixed in 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.23, 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14, 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* | 14.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* | 16.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 18.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 19.10 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:a:apport_project:apport:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | not specified by NVD | Vulnerable | Apport Project |
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 14.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 16.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 18.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 19.10 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:a:apport_project:apport:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions not specified by NVD Vulnerable ·Apport Project
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Apport (Canonical) Fixed in 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.23, 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14, 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Advisory ·
Canonical Apport — USN-4315-2
2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2020-07088 World writable root owned lock file created in user controllable locationPriority LOW 30
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-8833
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-w9g5-3qgc-xmgx
References
More Canonical Ubuntu Linux vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-09349 An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 2019.2.4 and 3000 before 3000.2. KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-05854 smtp_mailaddr in smtp_session.c in OpenSMTPD 6.6, as used in OpenBSD 6.6 and other… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-01431 Netlogon Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2019-12627 Exim 4.92 through 4.92.2 allows remote code execution, a different vulnerability than… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-08259 Underflow in PHP-FPM can lead to RCE KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-07471 OS command injection in exim KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2020-8833 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-8833 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w9g5-3qgc-xmgx · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences