CVE-2020-11934
Sandbox escape vulnerability via snapctl user-open (xdg-open)
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.9
Sandbox escape vulnerability via snapctl user-open (xdg-open)
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
- Record
CVE-2020-11934- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-4271
5.9
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
- Record
EUVD-2020-4271- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-8cwp-mjww-pqc2 No score
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable...
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
- Record
GHSA-8cwp-mjww-pqc2- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.9
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
- Record
CVE-2020-11934- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 1.9 Low
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-668
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
5.9
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
- Record
CVE-2020-11934- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-11934
5.9
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-11934- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-11934
5.9
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. OpenURL() in usersession/userd/launcher.go would alter $XDG_DATA_DIRS to append a path to a directory controlled by the calling snap. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL and, for example, execute a script shipped with the snap without confinement. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. Fixed in snapd versions 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, 2.45.1+18.04.2 and 2.45.1+20.04.2.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-11934- CVSS 3.1
- 5.9 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-4424-1 No score
snapd vulnerabilities
It was discovered that cloud-init as managed by snapd on Ubuntu Core 16 and Ubuntu Core 18 devices ran on every boot without restrictions. A physical attacker could exploit this to craft cloud-init user-data/meta-data via external media to perform arbitrary changes on the device to bypass intended security mechanisms such as full disk encryption. This issue did not affect traditional Ubuntu systems. (CVE-2020-11933)
It was discovered that snapctl user-open allowed altering the XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable when calling the system xdg-open. A malicious snap could exploit this to bypass intended access restrictions to control how the host system xdg-open script opens the URL. This issue did not affect Ubuntu Core systems. (CVE-2020-11934)
- Record
USN-4424-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
snapdDebian:12 |
before 2.45.2-1 | 2.45.2-1 |
snapdDebian:13 |
before 2.45.2-1 | 2.45.2-1 |
snapdDebian:14 |
before 2.45.2-1 | 2.45.2-1 |
snapdUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
before 2.45.1ubuntu0.2, plus listed versions 1.91.9.1.11.9.22.02.0.1 Show 38 moreShow less2.0.22.0.32.0.52.0.82.0.92.0.102.11+0.16.042.12+0.16.042.132.14.2~16.042.15.2ubuntu12.16ubuntu32.17.1ubuntu12.20.1ubuntu12.212.22.22.22.32.22.62.23.12.24.12.252.26.102.27.52.28.52.29.4.22.32.3.22.32.92.33.1ubuntu22.34.22.34.2ubuntu0.12.37.42.37.4ubuntu0.12.382.39.22.39.2ubuntu0.22.402.42.12.45.1 |
2.45.1ubuntu0.2 |
snapdUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
before 2.45.1+18.04.2, plus listed versions 2.28.5+17.102.29.4.1+18.042.29.4.2+18.042.31.1+18.042.32+18.04~pre5 Show 18 moreShow less2.32+18.04~pre62.32+18.042.32.3.2+18.042.32.5+18.042.32.8+18.042.32.9+18.042.33.1+18.04ubuntu22.34.2+18.042.34.2+18.04.12.37.1+18.042.37.1.1+18.042.37.4+18.042.37.4+18.04.12.38+18.042.39.2+18.042.40+18.042.42.1+18.042.45.1+18.04 |
2.45.1+18.04.2 |
snapdUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
before 2.45.1+20.04.2, plus listed versions 2.41+19.10.12.42.1+20.042.43.3+git1.8109f82.44~pre1+20.042.44+20.042.44.2+20.042.44.3+20.042.45.1+20.04 |
2.45.1+20.04.2 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, products | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-11934 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.9) in Canonical Snapd, published July 15, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.36%, the 30th percentile. Fixed in snapd 2.45.2-1.
References
ubuntu.com/USN-4424-1
launchpad.net/bugs/1880085
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11934
github.com/advisories/GHSA-8cwp-mjww-pqc2
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-11934
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-11934
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4424-1
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-11934
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-11933