# CVE-2024-42472: Flatpak may allow access to files outside sandbox for certain apps

> A malicious Flatpak app can escape its sandbox and access or modify files outside the permitted directory by exploiting symlink handling in persistent directories.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 2 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2024-42472, ALSA-2024:6356, ALSA-2024:6422, ALSA-2024:9449, CLEANSTART-2024-UL58888, CLSA-2024-1726313380, CLSA-2025-1741125454, CLSA-2025-1741291194, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-42472, DLA-4099-1, DSA-5749-1, GHSA-7hgv-f2j8-xw87, MGASA-2025-0303, OESA-2024-2053, RHSA-2024:6355, RHSA-2024:6356, RHSA-2024:6357, RHSA-2024:6417, RHSA-2024:6418, RHSA-2024:6419, RHSA-2024:6420, RHSA-2024:6421, RHSA-2024:6422, RHSA-2024:9449, RLSA-2024:6356, RLSA-2024:6422, RLSA-2024:9449, SUSE-SU-2024:3073-1, SUSE-SU-2024:3104-1, SUSE-SU-2024:3174-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-42472, USN-7046-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:14269-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:14275-1

## What is CVE-2024-42472?

CVE-2024-42472 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 15 Aug 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Flatpak is a Linux application sandboxing and distribution framework. Prior to versions 1.14.0 and 1.15.10, a malicious or compromised Flatpak app using persistent directories could access and write files outside of what it would otherwise have access to, which is an attack on integrity and confidentiality.

When `persistent=subdir` is used in the application permissions (represented as `--persist=subdir` in the command-line interface), that means that an application which otherwise doesn't have access to the real user home directory will see an empty home directory with a writeable subdirectory `subdir`. Behind the scenes, this directory is actually a bind mount and the data is stored in the per-application directory as `~/.var/app/$APPID/subdir`. This allows existing apps that are not aware of the per-application directory to still work as intended without general home directory access.

However, the application does have write access to the application directory `~/.var/app/$APPID` where this directory is stored. If the source directory for the `persistent`/`--persist` option is replaced by a symlink, then the next time the application is started, the bind mount will follow the symlink and mount whatever it points to into the sandbox.

Partial protection against this vulnerability can be provided by patching Flatpak using the patches in commits ceec2ffc and 98f79773. However, this leaves a race condition that could be exploited by two instances of a malicious app running in parallel. Closing the race condition requires updating or patching the version of bubblewrap that is used by Flatpak to add the new `--bind-fd` option using the patch and then patching Flatpak to use it. If Flatpak has been configured at build-time with `-Dsystem_bubblewrap=bwrap` (1.15.x) or `--with-system-bubblewrap=bwrap` (1.14.x or older), or a similar option, then the version of bubblewrap that needs to be patched is a system copy that is distributed separately, typically `/usr/bin/bwrap`. This configuration is the one that is typically used in Linux distributions. If Flatpak has been configured at build-time with `-Dsystem_bubblewrap=` (1.15.x) or with `--without-system-bubblewrap` (1.14.x or older), then it is the bundled version of bubblewrap that is included with Flatpak that must be patched. This is typically installed as `/usr/libexec/flatpak-bwrap`. This configuration is the default when building from source code.

For the 1.14.x stable branch, these changes are included in Flatpak 1.14.10. The bundled version of bubblewrap included in this release has been updated to 0.6.3. For the 1.15.x development branch, these changes are included in Flatpak 1.15.10. The bundled version of bubblewrap in this release is a Meson "wrap" subproject, which has been updated to 0.10.0. The 1.12.x and 1.10.x branches will not be updated for this vulnerability. Long-term support OS distributions should backport the individual changes into their versions of Flatpak and bubblewrap, or update to newer versions if their stability policy allows it. As a workaround, avoid using applications using the `persistent` (`--persist`) permission.

Weakness: CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-42472?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `bubblewrap` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 0.4.0-2.el8_10 |
| `flatpak` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-devel` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-libs` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-selinux` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-session-helper` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `bubblewrap` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 0.4.1-7.el9_4.alma.1 |
| `bubblewrap` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 0.4.1-8.el9_5 |
| `flatpak` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_4 |
| `flatpak` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_5 |
| `flatpak-devel` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_4 |
| `flatpak-devel` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_5 |
| `flatpak-libs` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_4 |
| `flatpak-libs` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_5 |
| `flatpak-selinux` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_4 |
| `flatpak-selinux` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_5 |
| `flatpak-session-helper` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_4 |
| `flatpak-session-helper` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.12.9-3.el9_5 |
| `flatpak` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-libs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-selinux` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-session-helper` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-session-helper-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-tests-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `bubblewrap` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.4.0-2.el8_10 |
| `bubblewrap-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.4.0-2.el8_10 |
| `bubblewrap-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:0.4.0-2.el8_10 |
| `flatpak` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-libs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-session-helper` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-session-helper-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak-tests-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el8_10 |
| `flatpak` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el9_4 |
| `flatpak` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:1.12.9-3.el9_5 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Flatpak Flatpak.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-42472?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-42472 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-42472 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-42472 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-42472 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 15 Aug 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-42472 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian 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-2024-42472/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42472/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-42472
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42472
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-42472

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42472/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.