Description
Apport reads and writes information on a crashed process to /proc/pid with elevated privileges. Apport then determines which user the crashed process belongs to by reading /proc/pid through get_pid_info() in data/apport. An unprivileged user could exploit this to read information about a privileged running process by exploiting PID recycling. This information could then be used to obtain ASLR offsets for a process with an existing memory corruption vulnerability. The initial fix introduced regressions in the Python Apport library due to a missing argument in Report.add_proc_environ in apport/report.py. It also caused an autopkgtest failure when reading /proc/pid and with Python 2 compatibility by reading /proc maps. The initial and subsequent regression fixes are in 2.20.11-0ubuntu16, 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.6, 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.12, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.22 and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29+esm3.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canonical | Apport | 2.14.1 – < 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29+esm3, 2.20.1 – < 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.22, 2.20.9 – < 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.12, 2.20.11 – < 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.6 | 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29+esm3 |
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 18.04 LTS | apport | 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.8 | USN-4171-1 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | apport | 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.20 | USN-4171-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | apport | 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29+esm2 | USN-4171-2 |
Advisories 2
- USN-4171-1 apport vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- USN-4171-2 apport vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
References
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apport/+bug/1839795
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4171-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4171-2/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4171-3/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4171-4/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4171-5/
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apport/+bug/1850929
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apport/+bug/1851806
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/apport/+bug/1854237
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172858/Ubuntu-Apport-Whoopsie-DoS-Integer-Overflow.html