Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. A bug was…
Summary
Vulnerability reported (CVE-2021-21261). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. A bug was discovered in the flatpak-portal service that can allow sandboxed applications to execute arbitrary code on the host system (a sandbox escape). This sandbox-escape bug is present in versions from 0.11.4 and before fixed versions 1.8.5 and 1.10.0. The Flatpak portal D-Bus service (flatpak-portal, also known by its D-Bus service name org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak) allows apps in a Flatpak sandbox to launch their own subprocesses in a new sandbox instance, either with the same security settings as the caller or with more restrictive security settings. For example, this is used in Flatpak-packaged web browsers such as Chromium to launch subprocesses that will process untrusted web content, and give those subprocesses a more restrictive sandbox than the browser itself. In vulnerable versions, the Flatpak portal service passes caller-specified environment variables to non-sandboxed processes on the host system, and in particular to the flatpak run command that is used to launch the new sandbox instance. A malicious or compromised Flatpak app could set environment variables that are trusted by the flatpak run command, and use them to execute arbitrary code that is not in a sandbox. As a workaround, this vulnerability can be mitigated by preventing the flatpak-portal service from starting, but that mitigation will prevent many Flatpak apps from working correctly…
Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) NVD GitHub Advisory OSV
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-21261 has been found.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "CVE-2021-21261" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2021-21261
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Attack surface: org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (unclassified) has been reported. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions. Attack surface: org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak.
Severity: ?. Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
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1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで影響コンポーネントを特定する。
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2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2021-21261 flatpak Fixed in: 1.8.5-1
References
- advisory github.com
- advisory github.com
- advisory github.com
- advisory security.gentoo.org
- advisory debian.org
- patch github.com
- patch github.com
- patch github.com