UBUNTU-CVE-2026-19816 (CVE-2026-19816)
Vulnerability from osv_ubuntu – Published: 2026-09-14 20:16 – Updated: 2026-09-16 11:31 – Source websiteA flaw was found in PackageKit. PackageKit skips the polkit authorization check for transactions carrying the SIMULATE (dry-run) flag. In the dnf5 backend, the RepoRemove handler ignores that contract and always executes the real transaction because its guard is written as (role == REPO_REMOVE || !SIMULATE), which is always true for RepoRemove. An unprivileged local user can therefore perform a genuine package uninstall while claiming to simulate. This vulnerability only affects systems using PackageKit with the dnf5 backend.
{
"affected": [
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
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{
"binary_name": "gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0",
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},
{
"binary_name": "gstreamer1.0-packagekit",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "libpackagekit-glib2-16",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-backend-aptcc",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-backend-smart",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-docs",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-gtk3-module",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-tools",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "python3-packagekit",
"binary_version": "0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
}
]
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS",
"name": "packagekit",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit@0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1?arch=source\u0026distro=esm-infra/xenial"
},
"ranges": [
{
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{
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}
],
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}
],
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"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1",
"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.1",
"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.2",
"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.3",
"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.4",
"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5",
"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"
]
},
{
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{
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"binary_version": "1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "gstreamer1.0-packagekit",
"binary_version": "1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "libpackagekit-glib2-18",
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},
{
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{
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},
{
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}
]
},
"package": {
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"name": "packagekit",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit@1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1?arch=source\u0026distro=esm-infra/bionic"
},
"ranges": [
{
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],
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],
"versions": [
"1.1.7-1",
"1.1.9-1",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu1",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu2",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.1",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.3",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.4",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.5",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6",
"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"
]
},
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
"binaries": [
{
"binary_name": "gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "gstreamer1.0-packagekit",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "libpackagekit-glib2-18",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-command-not-found",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-docs",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-gtk3-module",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-tools",
"binary_version": "1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
}
]
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS",
"name": "packagekit",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit@1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1?arch=source\u0026distro=esm-infra/focal"
},
"ranges": [
{
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],
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}
],
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"1.1.12-5ubuntu4",
"1.1.13-1",
"1.1.13-2",
"1.1.13-2build1",
"1.1.13-2ubuntu1",
"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1",
"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"
]
},
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
"binaries": [
{
"binary_name": "gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0",
"binary_version": "1.2.5-2ubuntu3.1"
},
{
"binary_name": "gstreamer1.0-packagekit",
"binary_version": "1.2.5-2ubuntu3.1"
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{
"binary_name": "libpackagekit-glib2-18",
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"binary_name": "packagekit",
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{
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},
{
"binary_name": "packagekit-tools",
"binary_version": "1.2.5-2ubuntu3.1"
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"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:22.04:LTS",
"name": "packagekit",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit@1.2.5-2ubuntu3.1?arch=source\u0026distro=jammy"
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"1.2.4-1ubuntu1",
"1.2.4-1ubuntu2",
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"1.2.5-2ubuntu1",
"1.2.5-2ubuntu2",
"1.2.5-2ubuntu3",
"1.2.5-2ubuntu3.1"
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"binary_version": "1.2.8-2ubuntu1.5"
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{
"binary_name": "libpackagekit-glib2-18",
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{
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"package": {
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"name": "packagekit",
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"1.2.8-2ubuntu1",
"1.2.8-2ubuntu1.1",
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{
"binary_name": "gstreamer1.0-packagekit",
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{
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{
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},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:26.04:LTS",
"name": "packagekit",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit@1.3.4-3ubuntu1.2?arch=source\u0026distro=resolute"
},
"ranges": [
{
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],
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"1.3.1-1",
"1.3.2-1",
"1.3.3-1",
"1.3.4-1",
"1.3.4-3",
"1.3.4-3ubuntu1",
"1.3.4-3ubuntu1.1",
"1.3.4-3ubuntu1.2"
]
}
],
"aliases": [],
"details": "A flaw was found in PackageKit. PackageKit skips the polkit authorization check for transactions carrying the SIMULATE (dry-run) flag. In the dnf5 backend, the RepoRemove handler ignores that contract and always executes the real transaction because its guard is written as (role == REPO_REMOVE || !SIMULATE), which is always true for RepoRemove. An unprivileged local user can therefore perform a genuine package uninstall while claiming to simulate. This vulnerability only affects systems using PackageKit with the dnf5 backend.",
"id": "UBUNTU-CVE-2026-19816",
"modified": "2026-09-16T11:31:18Z",
"published": "2026-09-14T20:16:00Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-19816"
},
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19816"
},
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2515940"
},
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/security/advisories/GHSA-g5gf-h68q-gxc8"
}
],
"related": [],
"schema_version": "1.7.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
},
{
"score": "medium",
"type": "Ubuntu"
}
],
"upstream": [
"CVE-2026-19816"
]
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
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- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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