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CVE-2026-96281

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

On a multi-user system, a user with an active local login session could downgrade a system-wide Flatpak app to an older version by removing the app's remote ref via the unprivileged system-helper RemoveLocalRef method, causing the anti-downgrade check to fail to find a reference date. A malicious local user could use this to expose other users of the same system to an app version with unfixed vulnerabilities.

Severity
MEDIUM
CVSS score
6.2 (v3.1)
Vulnerability status
Awaiting Analysis
Source identifier
Published
2026-09-27 21:17:04.330000
Last modified
2026-11-06 03:16:48.483000
View original CVE JSON
{
  "id": "CVE-2026-96281",
  "sourceIdentifier": "[email protected]",
  "published": "2026-09-27T21:17:04.330",
  "lastModified": "2026-11-06T03:16:48.483",
  "vulnStatus": "Awaiting Analysis",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "On a multi-user system, a user with an active local login session could downgrade a system-wide Flatpak app to an older version by removing the app's remote ref via the unprivileged system-helper RemoveLocalRef method, causing the anti-downgrade check to fail to find a reference date. A malicious local user could use this to expose other users of the same system to an app version with unfixed vulnerabilities."
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "Red Hat",
          "product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10",
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
          "packageName": "flatpak",
          "cpes": [
            "cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:10"
          ]
        },
        {
          "vendor": "Red Hat",
          "product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7",
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
          "packageName": "flatpak",
          "cpes": [
            "cpe:/o:redhat:rhel_els:7"
          ]
        },
        {
          "vendor": "Red Hat",
          "product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8",
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
          "packageName": "flatpak",
          "cpes": [
            "cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:8"
          ]
        },
        {
          "vendor": "Red Hat",
          "product": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9",
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "collectionURL": "https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/",
          "packageName": "flatpak",
          "cpes": [
            "cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "source": "[email protected]",
        "type": "Secondary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "3.1",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
          "baseScore": 6.2,
          "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
          "attackVector": "PHYSICAL",
          "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 0.3,
        "impactScore": 5.9
      }
    ],
    "ssvcV203": [
      {
        "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
        "ssvcData": {
          "timestamp": "2026-09-30T19:41:13.507053Z",
          "id": "CVE-2026-96281",
          "options": [
            {
              "exploitation": "none"
            },
            {
              "automatable": "no"
            },
            {
              "technicalImpact": "total"
            }
          ],
          "role": "CISA Coordinator",
          "version": "2.0.3"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "type": "Secondary",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-284"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96281",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2539421",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/security/advisories/GHSA-q4gr-vc25-57m5",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    }
  ]
}