USN-8195-3: PackageKit vulnerability

Publication date

29 April 2026

Overview

PackageKit could be made to install packages as the administrator.


Packages

  • packagekit - Provides a package management service

Details

USN-8195-1 fixed a vulnerability in PackageKit. This update provides
the corresponding fix to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Original advisory details:

It was discovered that PackageKit incorrectly handled certain transactions.
A local attacker could use this issue to install arbitrary packages as
root, possibly resulting in privilege escalation.

USN-8195-1 fixed a vulnerability in PackageKit. This update provides
the corresponding fix to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Original advisory details:

It was discovered that PackageKit incorrectly handled certain transactions.
A local attacker could use this issue to install arbitrary packages as
root, possibly resulting in privilege escalation.

Update instructions

After a standard system update you need to reboot your computer to make all the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
20.04 LTS focal packagekit –  1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1  
18.04 LTS bionic packagekit –  1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1  
16.04 xenial packagekit –  0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1  

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.


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