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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2016-20021: Gentoo Portage · Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature

Source CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.8 Critical · fixed in 3.0.47 : patch affected systems as a priority.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
9.8Critical
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 40% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 3.0.47
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 12 Jan 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
n/a n/aAffected
  • <3.0.47
Fixed in
  • 3.0.47

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should immediately upgrade Gentoo Portage to version 3.0.47 or later, where proper PGP signature verification is implemented in emerge-webrsync. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, organizations should consider disabling the use of the standalone emerge-webrsync utility and instead use the standard Portage synchronization methods that are not vulnerable. Network-level protections such as enforcing encrypted and authenticated channels (e.g., VPNs, SSH tunnels) for package synchronization can reduce the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks. Additionally, implementing strict network segmentation and monitoring for unusual network activity related to emerge-webrsync can help detect exploitation attempts. Organizations should also verify the integrity of their package repositories and consider using additional cryptographic verification tools to validate downloaded packages manually. Regular auditing of systems for unauthorized changes and maintaining robust incident response plans tailored to Linux package management compromise scenarios are recommended. Finally, educating system administrators about this vulnerability and the importance of signature verification in package management is crucial to prevent misconfigurations that could expose systems to attack.

Description

In Gentoo Portage before 3.0.47, there is missing PGP validation of executed code: the standalone emerge-webrsync downloads a .gpgsig file but does not perform signature verification. Unless emerge-webrsync is used, Portage is not vulnerable.

References

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