CVE-2021-41133: Sandbox bypass via recent VFS-manipulating syscalls

Published Oct 8, 2021
·
Updated

Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. In versions prior to 1.10.4 and 1.12.0, Flatpak apps with direct access to AFUNIX sockets such as those used by Wayland, Pipewire or pipewire-pulse can trick portals and other host-OS services into treating the Flatpak app as though it was an ordinary, non-sandboxed host-OS process. They can do this by manipulating the VFS using recent mount-related syscalls that are not blocked by Flatpak's denylist seccomp filter, in order to substitute a crafted /.flatpak-info or make that file disappear entirely. Flatpak apps that act as clients for AFUNIX sockets such as those used by Wayland, Pipewire or pipewire-pulse can escalate the privileges that the corresponding services will believe the Flatpak app has. Note that protocols that operate entirely over the D-Bus session bus (user bus), system bus or accessibility bus are not affected by this. This is due to the use of a proxy process xdg-dbus-proxy, whose VFS cannot be manipulated by the Flatpak app, when interacting with these buses. Patches exist for versions 1.10.4 and 1.12.0, and as of time of publication, a patch for version 1.8.2 is being planned. There are no workarounds aside from upgrading to a patched version.

Affected Software

9 affected componentsFixes available
debian/flatpak<=1.10.3-0+deb11u1, <=1.11.3-2, <=1.2.5-0+deb10u4
1.12.0-11.10.5-0+deb11u1
debian/0.5.0-1<=undefined
debian/flatpak<=1.2.5-0+deb10u4
1.10.8-0+deb11u11.10.7-0+deb11u11.14.4-11.14.5-1
Flatpak Flatpak<1.8.2
Flatpak Flatpak>=1.10.0<1.10.4
Flatpak Flatpak>=1.11.1<1.12.1
Debian Debian Linux=11.0
Fedoraproject Fedora=33
Fedoraproject Fedora=34

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/flatpak to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.12.0-1Fixed in 1.10.5-0+deb11u1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/flatpak to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.10.8-0+deb11u1Fixed in 1.10.7-0+deb11u1Fixed in 1.14.4-1Fixed in 1.14.5-1
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade flatpak to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.10.4
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade flatpak to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.12.0

Event History

Oct 8, 2021
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·02:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the vulnerability ID for this Flatpak vulnerability?

The vulnerability ID for this Flatpak vulnerability is CVE-2021-41133.

2

What is Flatpak?

Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux.

3

What is the severity of CVE-2021-41133?

The severity of CVE-2021-41133 is high with a CVSS score of 7.8.

4

What is the affected software for CVE-2021-41133?

The affected software for CVE-2021-41133 includes Flatpak versions prior to 1.10.4 and 1.12.0, as well as Debian Debian Linux 11.0 and Fedoraproject Fedora 33 and 34.

5

How can CVE-2021-41133 be exploited?

CVE-2021-41133 can be exploited by Flatpak apps with direct access to AF_UNIX sockets tricking portals and other host-OS services.

6

How do I fix CVE-2021-41133?

To fix CVE-2021-41133, it is recommended to update Flatpak to version 1.10.4 or 1.12.0, or apply the appropriate updates provided by Debian or Fedoraproject.

Contact

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