# CVE-2019-11481: Apport reads arbitrary files if ~/.config/apport/settings is a symlink

> A local attacker can exploit a symlink vulnerability in Apport to read arbitrary files on the system with root privileges.

- **Severity:** Low 3.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7hrm-rprg-v656, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-11481

## What is CVE-2019-11481?

CVE-2019-11481 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 8 Feb 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Kevin Backhouse discovered that apport would read a user-supplied configuration file with elevated privileges. By replacing the file with a symbolic link, a user could get apport to read any file on the system as root, with unknown consequences.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-11481?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Apport Project Apport, Canonical Ubuntu Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-11481?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2019-11481 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-11481 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2022-28657](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28657/): Denial of service in Apport (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-6552](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6552/): Apport treats the container PID as the global PID when /proc/<global_pid>/ is missing (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-14177](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14177/): Privilege escalation in Apport (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-14179](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14179/): Privilege escalation in Apport (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-14180](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14180/): Privilege escalation in Apport (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-11481 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-11481 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 8 Feb 2020. 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-2019-11481 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2019-11481/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11481/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-11481
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11481
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-11481

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11481/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.