CVE-2026-109518
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
- CVSS
- 7.7
- EPSS
- —
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Exploitation
- none
- Public exploits
- None seen
- State
- PUBLISHED
Coverage
OMG! Ubuntu / It's FOSS News / 9to5Linux / Fedora Magazine / Ubuntu Blog / Arch News / Debian NewsSpecialist. Specialist publisher: established trade press, or expert analysis with a track record
CVE-2026-109518 APT vulnerability fixes available
Fixes are available in Ubuntu for the CVE-2026-109518 vulnerability affecting APT.
What we observed
No signals recorded