CVE-2021-21261: Flatpak sandbox escape via spawn portal
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
Remediation
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
How does CVE-2021-21261 affect Linux systems?
CVE-2021-21261 affects Linux systems running the flatpak-portal service.
What is the severity of CVE-2021-21261?
CVE-2021-21261 has a severity rating of 8.8 (high).
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.
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.