Description
set_file_metadata in xattr.c in GNU Wget before 1.20.1 stores a file's origin URL in the user.xdg.origin.url metadata attribute of the extended attributes of the downloaded file, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information (e.g., credentials contained in the URL) by reading this attribute, as demonstrated by getfattr. This also applies to Referer information in the user.xdg.referrer.url metadata attribute. According to 2016-07-22 in the Wget ChangeLog, user.xdg.origin.url was partially based on the behavior of fwrite_xattr in tool_xattr.c in curl.
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.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | wget | 1.20.1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | wget | 1.20.1-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | wget | 1.20.1-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | wget | 1.19.4-1ubuntu2.2 | USN-3943-1 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | wget | 1.17.1-1ubuntu1.5 | USN-3943-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | wget | 1.15-1ubuntu1.14.04.5 | USN-3943-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | curl +3 | 7.61.1-11.el8 | RHSA-2019:3701 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 | wget | 1.19.5-3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:0093-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | wget | 1.21.1-2.2 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11510-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.0 | wget | 1.19.5-lp150.2.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2019:0057-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
Show 14 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.8 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.7 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.6 | wget | 1.20.1-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2 | curl +2 | 7.61.1-9.amzn2.0.1 | ALAS2-2019-1162 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 8 | curl +3 | 7.61.1-11.el8 | ELSA-2019-3701 |
Advisories 8
- WID-SEC-2026-4026 Red Hat OpenShift: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 18, 2026
- RHSA-2019:3701 Red Hat Security Advisory: curl security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Sep 21, 2026
- USN-3943-1 wget vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2019:0093-1 Security update for wget SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2019:0057-1 Security update for wget SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11510-1 wget-1.21.1-2.2 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ELSA-2019-3701 Moderate: curl security and bug fix update (Oracle Linux 8) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Nov 14, 2019
- ALAS2-2019-1162 Moderate: curl security update (Amazon Linux 2) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Feb 18, 2019
References
- GLSA-201903-08 vendor-advisory
- 106358 vdb-entry
- https://twitter.com/marcan42/status/1077676739877232640
- http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/wget.git/tree/NEWS
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190321-0002/
- USN-3943-1 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2019:3701 vendor-advisory