PackageKit is a a D-Bus abstraction layer that allows the user to manage packages in a secure way using a cross-distro, cross-architecture API. PackageKit between and including versions 1.0.2 and 1.3.4 is vulnerable to a time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition on transaction flags that allows unprivileged users to install packages as root and thus leads to a local privilege escalation. This is patched in version 1.3.5.
A local unprivileged user can install arbitrary RPM packages as root, including executing RPM scriptlets, without authentication. The vulnerability is a TOCTOU race condition on `transaction->cached_transaction_flags` combined with a silent state-machine guard that discards illegal backward transitions while leaving corrupted flags in place. Three bugs exist in `src/pk-transaction.c`:
1. Unconditional flag overwrite (line 4036): `InstallFiles()` writes caller-supplied flags to `transaction->cached_transaction_flags` without checking whether the transaction has already been authorized/started. A second call blindly overwrites the flags even while the transaction is RUNNING.
2. Silent state-transition rejection (lines 873–882): `pk_transaction_set_state()` silently discards backward state transitions (e.g. `RUNNING` → `WAITING_FOR_AUTH`) but the flag overwrite at step 1 already happened. The transaction continues running with corrupted flags.
3. Late flag read at execution time (lines 2273–2277): The scheduler's idle callback reads cached_transaction_flags at dispatch time, not at authorization time. If flags were overwritten between authorization and execution, the backend sees the attacker's flags.
References
Configurations
History
30 Jun 2026, 03:19
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| References |
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05 May 2026, 20:16
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
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| References | () https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/security/advisories/GHSA-f55j-vvr9-69xv - Exploit, Vendor Advisory | |
| References | () https://github.security.telekom.com/2026/04/pack2theroot-linux-local-privilege-escalation.html - Exploit, Third Party Advisory |
24 Apr 2026, 13:43
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
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| CPE | cpe:2.3:a:packagekit_project:packagekit:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| References | () https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/blob/04057883189efa225a7c785591aa87cb299782f8/src/pk-transaction.c#L2273-L2277 - Product | |
| References | () https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/blob/04057883189efa225a7c785591aa87cb299782f8/src/pk-transaction.c#L4036 - Product | |
| References | () https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/blob/04057883189efa225a7c785591aa87cb299782f8/src/pk-transaction.c#L873-L882 - Product | |
| References | () https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/security/advisories/GHSA-f55j-vvr9-69xv - Vendor Advisory, Exploit | |
| References | () https://github.security.telekom.com/2026/04/pack2theroot-linux-local-privilege-escalation.html - Exploit, Third Party Advisory | |
| References | () http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/22/6 - Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory | |
| First Time |
Packagekit Project packagekit
Packagekit Project |
22 Apr 2026, 19:17
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| References | () https://github.security.telekom.com/2026/04/pack2theroot-linux-local-privilege-escalation.html - |
22 Apr 2026, 18:16
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22 Apr 2026, 14:17
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| New CVE |
Information
Published : 2026-04-22 14:17
Updated : 2026-07-15 02:21
NVD link : CVE-2026-41651
Mitre link : CVE-2026-41651
CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-41651
JSON object : View
Products Affected
packagekit_project
- packagekit
CWE
CWE-367
Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition