# CVE-2011-0729: Missing authorization in n/a

> Local attackers can bypass PolicyKit checks to modify system locale and environment files, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Apr 2011
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-c3rf-95rj-96w3

## What is CVE-2011-0729?

CVE-2011-0729 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Apr 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

dbus_backend/ls-dbus-backend in the D-Bus backend in language-selector before 0.6.7 does not restrict access on the basis of a PolicyKit check result, which allows local users to modify the /etc/default/locale and /etc/environment files via a (1) SetSystemDefaultLangEnv or (2) SetSystemDefaultLanguageEnv call.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-0729?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ubuntu Language-Selector.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-0729?

No fix has been published for CVE-2011-0729 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2011-0729 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-0729 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2011-1842](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1842/): Command injection in n/a (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-0729 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-0729 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Apr 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-0729 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0729/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0729/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-0729
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-0729
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-0729

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0729/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.