CVE-2026-109518

APT RCE via hard link reuse

Published Nov 4, 2026 CVSS 4.0 · 7.7 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
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

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4880-1 apt security update
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Debian
Debian apt
Ubuntu
Ubuntu apt
Vendors & Products Debian
Debian apt
Ubuntu
Ubuntu apt
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-494
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

threat_severity

Important

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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
Title APT RCE via hard link reuse
Weaknesses CWE-367
CWE-62
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 7.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
canonical
Published
Updated
Nov 5, 2026, 4:56 AM
Reserved
Oct 12, 2026, 6:44 PM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Nov 4, 2026, 4:17 PM
Modified
Nov 12, 2026, 8:04 PM
Severity
Important
Public date
Nov 4, 2026, 3:49 PM