CVE-2020-16121

PackageKit error messages leak presence and mimetype of files to unprivileged users

Severity Score

3.3

*CVSS v3.1

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

*KEV

Decision

*SSVC

Descriptions

PackageKit provided detailed error messages to unprivileged callers that exposed information about file presence and mimetype of files that the user would be unable to determine on its own.

PackageKit proporcionó mensajes de error detallados a llamadores no privilegiados que exponían información sobre la presencia de archivos y mimetype de archivos que el usuario no podría ser capaz de determinar por sí solo

Vaisha Bernard discovered that PackageKit incorrectly handled certain methods. A local attacker could use this issue to learn the MIME type of any file on the system. Sami Niemimäki discovered that PackageKit incorrectly handled local deb packages. A local user could possibly use this issue to install untrusted packages, contrary to expectations.

*Credits: Vaisha Bernard

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Authentication

None

Confidentiality

Partial

Integrity

None

Availability

None

* Common Vulnerability Scoring System

SSVC

Decision:-

Exploitation

Automatable

Tech. Impact

* Organization's Worst-case Scenario

Timeline

2020-07-29 CVE Reserved
2020-09-24 CVE Published
2024-09-17 CVE Updated
2024-09-17 First Exploit
2025-03-30 EPSS Updated
---------- Exploited in Wild
---------- KEV Due Date

CWE

CWE-209: Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information

CAPEC

References (2)

URL	Tag	Source
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/packagekit/+bug/1888887	Issue Tracking

URL	Date	SRC
https://www.eyecontrol.nl/blog/the-story-of-3-cves-in-ubuntu-desktop.html	2024-09-17

URL	Date	SRC

URL	Date	SRC

Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions

Vendor		Product				Version		Other		Status
Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status	<-- -->	Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status
Packagekit Project Search vendor "Packagekit Project"		Packagekit Search vendor "Packagekit Project" for product "Packagekit"				-		-		Affected
Canonical Search vendor "Canonical"		Ubuntu Linux Search vendor "Canonical" for product "Ubuntu Linux"				20.04 Search vendor "Canonical" for product "Ubuntu Linux" and version "20.04"		lts		Affected