CVE-2020-15703
aptdaemon allows unprivileged users to test for the presence of local files via the transaction Locale property
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
4.0
aptdaemon allows unprivileged users to test for the presence of local files via the transaction Locale property
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
- Record
CVE-2020-15703- CVSS 3.1
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-5615
4.0
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
- Record
EUVD-2022-5615- CVSS 3.1
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-wpmr-q825-x4c6
4.0
aptdaemon Information Disclosure via Improper Input Validation in Transaction class
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
- Record
GHSA-wpmr-q825-x4c6- CVSS 3.1
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-200
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
4.0
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
- Record
CVE-2020-15703- CVSS 3.1
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 3.3 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 2.1 Low
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-wpmr-q825-x4c6
4.0
aptdaemon Information Disclosure via Improper Input Validation in Transaction class
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
- Record
GHSA-wpmr-q825-x4c6- CVSS 3.1
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-200
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2026-783
4.0
aptdaemon Information Disclosure via Improper Input Validation in Transaction class
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
- Record
PYSEC-2026-783- CVSS 3.1
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-15703
4.0
There is no input validation on the Locale property in an apt transaction. An unprivileged user can supply a full path to a writable directory, which lets aptd read a file as root. Having a symlink in place results in an error message if the file exists, and no error otherwise. This way an unprivileged user can check for the existence of any files on the system as root.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-15703- CVSS 3.1
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 3.3 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-4537-1 No score
aptdaemon vulnerability
Vaisha Bernard discovered that Aptdaemon incorrectly handled the Locale property. A local attacker could use this issue to test for the presence of local files.
- Record
USN-4537-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
aptdaemonPyPI |
before 1.1.1 | 1.1.1 |
aptdaemonPyPI |
before 1.1.1, plus listed versions 0.3X0.401.01.1trunk |
1.1.1 |
aptdaemonUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
before 1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu14.4, plus listed versions 1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu141.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu14.11.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu14.21.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu14.3 |
1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu14.4 |
aptdaemonUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
before 1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu19.4, plus listed versions 1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu171.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu191.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu19.11.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu19.21.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu19.3 |
1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu19.4 |
aptdaemonUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
before 1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu32.2, plus listed versions 1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu281.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu301.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu311.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu321.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu32.1 |
1.1.1+bzr982-0ubuntu32.2 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-15703 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.0) in Aptdaemon Project Aptdaemon, published September 24, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.49%, the 42nd percentile. Fixed in aptdaemon 1.1.1.
References
eyecontrol.nl/blog/the-story-of-3-cves-in-ubuntu-desktop.html
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4537-1
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15703
bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/aptdaemon/+bug/1888235
github.com/linuxmint/aptdaemon/blob/4d24cb61575ac6fbee8d5e61ef933e6093ee0a2e/debian/patches/CVE-2020-15703.patch
github.com/advisories/GHSA-wpmr-q825-x4c6