A flaw was found in the xdg-email component of xdg-utils-1.1.0-rc1 and newer.
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-201.
Summary
A flaw was found in the xdg-email component of xdg-utils-1.1.0-rc1 and newer. When handling mailto: URIs, xdg-email allows attachments to be discreetly added via the URI when being passed to Thunderbird. An attacker could potentially send a victim a URI that automatically attaches a sensitive file to a new email. If a victim user does not notice that an attachment was added and sends the email, this could result in sensitive information disclosure. It has been confirmed that the code behind this issue is in xdg-email and not in Thunderbird.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | xdg-utils | xdg-utils-1.1.0-rc1 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- xdg-utils Vendor— Affected xdg-utils-1.1.0-rc1 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:freedesktop:xdg-utils:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 1.1.0 | Vulnerable | Freedesktop |
- cpe:2.3:a:freedesktop:xdg-utils:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.1.0 Vulnerable ·Freedesktop
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-27748
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3c8x-jg6w-85xx
References
More Freedesktop Xdg-utils vulnerabilities
- TI-2022-03721 When xdg-mail is configured to use thunderbird for mailto URLs, improper parsing of the… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.4
- TI-2015-01685 The open_generic_xdg_mime function in xdg-open in xdg-utils 1.1.0 rc1 in Debian, when… CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2017-13451 The open_envvar function in xdg-open in xdg-utils before 1.1.3 does not validate strings… CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2009-00064 Interaction error in xdg-open allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by… CVSS 2.0MEDIUM 6.8
Sources
- CVE-2020-27748 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-27748 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3c8x-jg6w-85xx · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-27748 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences