CVE-2021-21261: Flatpak sandbox escape via spawn portal

Published Jan 14, 2021
·
Updated

Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. A bug was discovered in the flatpak-portal service that can allow sandboxed applications to execute arbitrary code on the host system (a sandbox escape). This sandbox-escape bug is present in versions from 0.11.4 and before fixed versions 1.8.5 and 1.10.0. The Flatpak portal D-Bus service (flatpak-portal, also known by its D-Bus service name org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak) allows apps in a Flatpak sandbox to launch their own subprocesses in a new sandbox instance, either with the same security settings as the caller or with more restrictive security settings. For example, this is used in Flatpak-packaged web browsers such as Chromium to launch subprocesses that will process untrusted web content, and give those subprocesses a more restrictive sandbox than the browser itself. In vulnerable versions, the Flatpak portal service passes caller-specified environment variables to non-sandboxed processes on the host system, and in particular to the flatpak run command that is used to launch the new sandbox instance. A malicious or compromised Flatpak app could set environment variables that are trusted by the flatpak run command, and use them to execute arbitrary code that is not in a sandbox. As a workaround, this vulnerability can be mitigated by preventing the flatpak-portal service from starting, but that mitigation will prevent many Flatpak apps from working correctly. This is fixed in versions 1.8.5 and 1.10.0.

Affected Software

4 affected componentsFixes available
debian/flatpak
1.2.5-0+deb10u41.10.8-0+deb11u11.10.7-0+deb11u11.14.4-11.14.4-2
Flatpak Flatpak>=0.11.4<1.8.5
Flatpak Flatpak>=1.9.1<1.10.0
Debian Debian Linux=10.0

Event History

Jan 14, 2021
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:40 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:40 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2021-21261?

CVE-2021-21261 is a vulnerability in the flatpak-portal service that allows sandboxed applications to execute arbitrary code on the host system.

2

How does CVE-2021-21261 affect Linux systems?

CVE-2021-21261 affects Linux systems running the flatpak-portal service.

3

What is the severity of CVE-2021-21261?

CVE-2021-21261 has a severity rating of 8.8 (high).

4

Which versions of Flatpak are affected by CVE-2021-21261?

Flatpak versions 0.11.4 to 1.8.5 are affected by CVE-2021-21261.

5

How can I fix CVE-2021-21261?

To fix CVE-2021-21261, update Flatpak to version 1.2.5-0+deb10u4, 1.10.8-0+deb11u1, 1.10.7-0+deb11u1, 1.14.4-1, or 1.14.4-2.

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