Skip to main content
CVE-2026-109518VulnerabilityPublished

Apt: On Debian, Ubuntu, and derivative Linux distributions, an on-path attacker who can manipulate the HTTP traffic

Affects aptSource GCVE Database

0
Compare
Authoritative record:CVE-2026-109518· High 7.7

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.7 High.

Data as of 4 Nov 2026, 23:09 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
7.7High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none
CVSS scores by source
CNA (canonical)CVSS 4.07.7
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 4 Nov 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 26.10aptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=stonkingOther threatsAffected
  • 3.2.0 – 3.3.3ubuntu0.1
4 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 3.1.6ubuntu2 – 3.2.1ubuntu0.1
10 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 2.7.3 – 2.8.4ubuntu0.1
9 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 22.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=jammyOther threatsAffected
  • 2.3.9 – 2.4.15ubuntu0.1
20 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/focalOther threatsAffected
  • 1.9.4 – 2.0.12+esm1
20 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTSaptpkg:deb/ubuntu/apt?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/bionicOther threatsAffected
  • 1.5 – 1.6~rc1
25 affected builds
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.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…