Vulnerability in Flatpak

CVE-2023-28101

Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. In versions prior to 1.10.8, 1.12.8, 1.14.4, and 1.15.4, if an attacker publishes a Flatpak app with elevated permissions, they can hide those permissions from users of the `flatpak(1)` command-line interface by setting other permissions to crafted values that contain non-printable control characters such as `ESC`. A fix is available in versions 1.10.8, 1.12.8, 1.14.4, and 1.15.4. As a workaround, use a GUI like GNOME Software rather than the command-line interface, or only install apps whose maintainers you trust.

EPSS: 0.009 (55.6th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.0 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N.

Affected products

  • Flatpak — versions < 1.10.8, >= 1.12.0, < 1.12.8, >= 1.14.0, < 1.14.4

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-28101?
CVE-2023-28101 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Flatpak, classified under Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output. CVSS score: 5.0/10. Published 2023-03-16.
How severe is CVE-2023-28101?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.0 out of 10.
Is CVE-2023-28101 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.