Apt: On Debian, Ubuntu, and derivative Linux distributions, an on-path attacker who can manipulate the HTTP traffic
Affects aptSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.7 High.
Data as of 4 Nov 2026, 23:09 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (canonical) | CVSS 4.0 | 7.7 |
|---|
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Nov 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.10aptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=stonkingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 22.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=jammyOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/focalOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/bionicOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
Users should verify and apply any official updates from Debian or Ubuntu that address this vulnerability. Additionally, configuring Acquire::Retries to zero would mitigate the attack vector by disabling retries, but this may affect package download reliability.
Description
A vulnerability in the APT package manager on Debian, Ubuntu, and derivative Linux distributions allows an on-path attacker who can manipulate HTTP traffic to trick the client into installing an attacker-controlled unverified package. This can lead to remote code execution with root privileges. The issue arises from the reuse of hard links and requires the client to follow redirects and retry downloads, which is enabled by a non-zero Acquire::Retries setting. The default setting of 3 retries in Debian 12 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and later makes these versions affected, while older releases with default settings are not affected.