CVE-2026-109518
Publication date 4 November 2026
Last updated 4 November 2026
Ubuntu priority
Description
On Debian, Ubuntu, and derivative Linux distributions, an on-path attacker who can manipulate the HTTP traffic (including a malicious mirror or proxy) between an APT client and an archive server triggered by a package install can trick the client into installing an attacker-controlled unverified package and achieve remote code execution with root privileges. The vulnerability is caused by the reuse of hard links and requires the client to follow redirects and retry the download of package files. It requires the client to have a non-zero Acquire::Retries configuration setting; the value 3 is the default starting with Debian 12 (bookworm) and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish), so older releases are unaffected in a default configuration.
Why is this CVE high priority?
See ubuntu cvss score
Status
| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
|---|---|---|
| apt | 26.10 stonking |
Vulnerable
|
| 26.04 LTS resolute |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 24.04 LTS noble |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 22.04 LTS jammy |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 20.04 LTS focal |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 18.04 LTS bionic |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 16.04 LTS xenial |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 14.04 LTS trusty |
Vulnerable
|
Severity score breakdown
CVSS version: CVSS v4.0
Base score
7.7 · High
Vector: 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