Upstream information
Description
PackageKit is a a D-Bus abstraction layer that allows the user to manage packages in a secure way using a cross-distro, cross-architecture API. PackageKit between and including versions 1.0.2 and 1.3.4 is vulnerable to a time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition on transaction flags that allows unprivileged users to install packages as root and thus leads to a local privilege escalation. This is patched in version 1.3.5.A local unprivileged user can install arbitrary RPM packages as root, including executing RPM scriptlets, without authentication. The vulnerability is a TOCTOU race condition on `transaction->cached_transaction_flags` combined with a silent state-machine guard that discards illegal backward transitions while leaving corrupted flags in place. Three bugs exist in `src/pk-transaction.c`:
1. Unconditional flag overwrite (line 4036): `InstallFiles()` writes caller-supplied flags to `transaction->cached_transaction_flags` without checking whether the transaction has already been authorized/started. A second call blindly overwrites the flags even while the transaction is RUNNING.
2. Silent state-transition rejection (lines 873-882): `pk_transaction_set_state()` silently discards backward state transitions (e.g. `RUNNING` -> `WAITING_FOR_AUTH`) but the flag overwrite at step 1 already happened. The transaction continues running with corrupted flags.
3. Late flag read at execution time (lines 2273-2277): The scheduler's idle callback reads cached_transaction_flags at dispatch time, not at authorization time. If flags were overwritten between authorization and execution, the backend sees the attacker's flags.
SUSE information
Overall state of this security issue: New
This issue is currently rated as having important severity.
| CVSS detail | CNA (GitHub) |
|---|---|
| Base Score | 8.8 |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Attack Vector | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low |
| User Interaction | None |
| Scope | Changed |
| Confidentiality Impact | High |
| Integrity Impact | High |
| Availability Impact | High |
| CVSSv3 Version | 3.1 |
Status of this issue by product and package
Please note that this evaluation state might be work in progress, incomplete or outdated. Also information for service packs in the LTSS phase is only included for issues meeting the LTSS criteria. If in doubt, feel free to contact us for clarification. The updates are grouped by state of their lifecycle. SUSE product lifecycles are documented on the lifecycle page.
| Product(s) | Source package | State |
|---|---|---|
| Products under general support and receiving all security fixes. | ||
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | PackageKit | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | PackageKit | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| Products under Long Term Service Pack support and receiving important and critical security fixes. | ||
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| Products past their end of life and not receiving proactive updates anymore. | ||
| HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 12 SP2-CLIENT | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-ESPOS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | PackageKit | Analysis |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | PackageKit | Analysis |
SUSE Timeline for this CVE
CVE page created: Thu Apr 16 14:15:36 2026CVE page last modified: Thu Apr 23 20:50:43 2026