Description
An issue was discovered in Apport before 2.20.4. A malicious Apport crash file can contain a restart command in `RespawnCommand` or `ProcCmdline` fields. This command will be executed if a user clicks the Relaunch button on the Apport prompt from the malicious crash file. The fix is to only show the Relaunch button on Apport crash files generated by local systems. The Relaunch button will be hidden when crash files are opened directly in Apport-GTK.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | apport | 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.4 | USN-3157-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | apport | 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.23 | USN-3157-1 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Exploit-DB 1
- Apport 2.x (Ubuntu Desktop 12.10 < 16.04) - Local Code Execution EDB-40937 · local · Dec 14, 2016
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- USN-3157-1 apport vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026