CVE-2020-5291
Privilege escalation in setuid mode via user namespaces in Bubblewrap
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.2
Privilege escalation in setuid mode via user namespaces in Bubblewrap
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
- Record
CVE-2020-5291- CVSS 3.1
- 7.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-648
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-26485
7.2
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
- Record
EUVD-2020-26485- CVSS 3.1
- 7.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
7.2
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
- Record
CVE-2020-5291- CVSS 3.1
- 7.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 8.5 High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-648, CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2020-5291
7.8
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2020-5291- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBELL-CVE-2020-5291
7.8
CVE-2020-5291 does not affect BellSoft software
- Record
BELL-CVE-2020-5291- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.8
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
- Record
CVE-2020-5291- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-5291
7.8
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5291- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-5291
7.8
Bubblewrap (bwrap) before version 0.4.1, if installed in setuid mode and the kernel supports unprivileged user namespaces, then the bwrap --userns2 option can be used to make the setuid process keep running as root while being traceable. This can in turn be used to gain root permissions. Note that this only affects the combination of bubblewrap in setuid mode (which is typically used when unprivileged user namespaces are not supported) and the support of unprivileged user namespaces. Known to be affected are: * Debian testing/unstable, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Debian buster-backports, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Arch if using linux-hardened, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) * Centos 7 flatpak COPR, if unprivileged user namespaces enabled (not default) This has been fixed in the 0.4.1 release, and all affected users should update.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-5291- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10663-1 No score
bubblewrap-0.5.0-1.1 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the bubblewrap-0.5.0-1.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10663-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.11 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.12 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.13 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.14 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.15 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.16 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.17 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.18 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.19 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.20 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
Show 9 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.21 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.22 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.23 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapAlpine:v3.24 |
before 0.4.1-r0 | 0.4.1-r0 |
bubblewrapDebian:12 |
before 0.4.1-1 | 0.4.1-1 |
bubblewrapDebian:13 |
before 0.4.1-1 | 0.4.1-1 |
bubblewrapDebian:14 |
before 0.4.1-1 | 0.4.1-1 |
bubblewrapUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
before 0.4.0-1ubuntu4, plus listed versions 0.3.3-20.4.0-10.4.0-1ubuntu10.4.0-1ubuntu20.4.0-1ubuntu3 |
0.4.0-1ubuntu4 |
bubblewrapopenSUSE:Tumbleweed From an advisory covering 3 CVEs |
before 0.5.0-1.1 | 0.5.0-1.1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-5291 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.2) in Centos, published March 31, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.90%, the 60th percentile. Fixed in bubblewrap 0.4.1-r0.
References
github.com/containers/bubblewrap/security/advisories/GHSA-j2qp-rvxj-43vj
github.com/containers/bubblewrap/commit/1f7e2ad948c051054b683461885a0215f1806240
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2020-5291
docs.bell-sw.com/security/cves/CVE-2020-5291
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-5291
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-5291