Flatpak · Vulnerability
Historical advisory recorded 23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC. Read the latest advisory.
cve-program · CVE-2026-96808
PublishedIn Flatpak before 1.18.1, the revokefs writer, used by the flatpak-system-helper to receive repository data from unprivileged callers, validated file paths by rejecting literal .. components but did not prevent symlink traversal. A malicious local user in an active local session could obtain two revokefs sessions via the system helper, create a symlink in one session pointing into the other session's directory, and retain a file descriptor through that symlink. This allowed the attacker to modify files belonging to a different revokefs session after they had been validated and imported by the system helper. In particular, an attacker could use this to tamper with ostree commit objects in the system repository after they passed signature verification, enabling root-controlled file writes to attacker-chosen paths and local root privilege escalation.
Read the publisher's advisoryAffected versions, risk and source history
cve-program · CVE-2026-96808
PublishedIn Flatpak before 1.18.1, the revokefs writer, used by the flatpak-system-helper to receive repository data from unprivileged callers, validated file paths by rejecting literal .. components but did not prevent symlink traversal. A maliciou…
In Flatpak before 1.18.1, the revokefs writer, used by the flatpak-system-helper to receive repository data from unprivileged callers, validated file paths by rejecting literal .. components but did not prevent symlink traversal. A malicious local user in an active local session could obtain two revokefs sessions via the system helper, create a symlink in one session pointing into the other session's directory, and retain a file descriptor through that symlink. This allowed the attacker to modify files belonging to a different revokefs session after they had been validated and imported by the system helper. In particular, an attacker could use this to tamper with ostree commit objects in the system repository after they passed signature verification, enabling root-controlled file writes to attacker-chosen paths and local root privilege escalation.
- Source published
- 23 Sep 2026 16:58:37 UTC
- Source modified
- 23 Sep 2026 18:22:46 UTC
- Saved here
- 23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC
- Source terms
- CVE Program Terms of Use
Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON
Source: cve-program · CVE Program Terms of Use. The publisher's wording is preserved. ChangeIntel groups the information and labels changes. The JSON record includes additional source fields.
CVSS 3.1 · 7.4 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H