CVE-2020-15238
Local privilege escalation Blueman
Blueman is a GTK+ Bluetooth Manager. In Blueman before 2.1.4, the DhcpClient method of the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism is prone to an argument injection vulnerability. The impact highly depends on the system configuration. If Polkit-1 is disabled and for versions lower than 2.0.6, any local user can possibly exploit this. If Polkit-1 is enabled for version 2.0.6 and later, a possible attacker needs to be allowed to use the org.blueman.dhcp.client action. That is limited to users in the wheel group in the shipped rules file that do have the privileges anyway. On systems with ISC DHCP client (dhclient), attackers can pass arguments to ip link with the interface name that can e.g. be used to bring down an interface or add an arbitrary XDP/BPF program. On systems with dhcpcd and without ISC DHCP client, attackers can even run arbitrary scripts by passing -c/path/to/script as an interface name. Patches are included in 2.1.4 and master that change the DhcpClient D-Bus method(s) to accept BlueZ network object paths instead of network interface names. A backport to 2.0(.8) is also available. As a workaround, make sure that Polkit-1-support is enabled and limit privileges for the org.blueman.dhcp.client action to users that are able to run arbitrary commands as root anyway in /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/blueman.rules.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.1
Local privilege escalation Blueman
Blueman is a GTK+ Bluetooth Manager. In Blueman before 2.1.4, the DhcpClient method of the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism is prone to an argument injection vulnerability. The impact highly depends on the system configuration. If Polkit-1 is disabled and for versions lower than 2.0.6, any local user can possibly exploit this. If Polkit-1 is enabled for version 2.0.6 and later, a possible attacker needs to be allowed to use the org.blueman.dhcp.client action. That is limited to users in the wheel group in the shipped rules file that do have the privileges anyway. On systems with ISC DHCP client (dhclient), attackers can pass arguments to ip link with the interface name that can e.g. be used to bring down an interface or add an arbitrary XDP/BPF program. On systems with dhcpcd and without ISC DHCP client, attackers can even run arbitrary scripts by passing -c/path/to/script as an interface name. Patches are included in 2.1.4 and master that change the DhcpClient D-Bus method(s) to accept BlueZ network object paths instead of network interface names. A backport to 2.0(.8) is also available. As a workaround, make sure that Polkit-1-support is enabled and limit privileges for the org.blueman.dhcp.client action to users that are able to run arbitrary commands as root anyway in /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/blueman.rules.
- Record
CVE-2020-15238- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-74
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-7263
7.1
Blueman is a GTK+ Bluetooth Manager. In Blueman before 2.1.4, the DhcpClient method of the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism is prone to an argument injection vulnerability. The impact highly depends on the system configuration. If Polkit-1 is disabled and for versions lower than 2.0.6, any local user can possibly exploit this. If Polkit-1 is enabled for version 2.0.6 and later, a possible attacker needs to be allowed to use the org.blueman.dhcp.client action. That is limited to users in the wheel group in the shipped rules file that do have the privileges anyway. On systems with ISC DHCP client (dhclient), attackers can pass arguments to ip link with the interface name that can e.g. be used to bring down an interface or add an arbitrary XDP/BPF program. On systems with dhcpcd and without ISC DHCP client, attackers can even run arbitrary scripts by passing -c/path/to/script as an interface name. Patches are included in 2.1.4 and master that change the DhcpClient D-Bus method(s) to accept BlueZ network object paths instead of network interface names. A backport to 2.0(.8) is also available. As a workaround, make sure that Polkit-1-support is enabled and limit privileges for the org.blueman.dhcp.client action to users that are able to run arbitrary commands as root anyway in /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/blueman.rules.
- Record
EUVD-2020-7263- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
7.1
Blueman is a GTK+ Bluetooth Manager. In Blueman before 2.1.4, the DhcpClient method of the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism is prone to an argument injection vulnerability. The impact highly depends on the system configuration. If Polkit-1 is disabled and for versions lower than 2.0.6, any local user can possibly exploit this. If Polkit-1 is enabled for version 2.0.6 and later, a possible attacker needs to be allowed to use the org.blueman.dhcp.client action. That is limited to users in the wheel group in the shipped rules file that do have the privileges anyway. On systems with ISC DHCP client (dhclient), attackers can pass arguments to ip link with the interface name that can e.g. be used to bring down an interface or add an arbitrary XDP/BPF program. On systems with dhcpcd and without ISC DHCP client, attackers can even run arbitrary scripts by passing -c/path/to/script as an interface name. Patches are included in 2.1.4 and master that change the DhcpClient D-Bus method(s) to accept BlueZ network object paths instead of network interface names. A backport to 2.0(.8) is also available. As a workaround, make sure that Polkit-1-support is enabled and limit privileges for the org.blueman.dhcp.client action to users that are able to run arbitrary commands as root anyway in /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/blueman.rules.
- Record
CVE-2020-15238- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L - CVSS 3.1
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.9 Medium
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-74, CWE-88
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.0
Blueman is a GTK+ Bluetooth Manager. In Blueman before 2.1.4, the DhcpClient method of the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism is prone to an argument injection vulnerability. The impact highly depends on the system configuration. If Polkit-1 is disabled and for versions lower than 2.0.6, any local user can possibly exploit this. If Polkit-1 is enabled for version 2.0.6 and later, a possible attacker needs to be allowed to use the org.blueman.dhcp.client action. That is limited to users in the wheel group in the shipped rules file that do have the privileges anyway. On systems with ISC DHCP client (dhclient), attackers can pass arguments to ip link with the interface name that can e.g. be used to bring down an interface or add an arbitrary XDP/BPF program. On systems with dhcpcd and without ISC DHCP client, attackers can even run arbitrary scripts by passing -c/path/to/script as an interface name. Patches are included in 2.1.4 and master that change the DhcpClient D-Bus method(s) to accept BlueZ network object paths instead of network interface names. A backport to 2.0(.8) is also available. As a workaround, make sure that Polkit-1-support is enabled and limit privileges for the org.blueman.dhcp.client action to users that are able to run arbitrary commands as root anyway in /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/blueman.rules.
- Record
CVE-2020-15238- CVSS 3.1
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-15238
7.0
Blueman is a GTK+ Bluetooth Manager. In Blueman before 2.1.4, the DhcpClient method of the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism is prone to an argument injection vulnerability. The impact highly depends on the system configuration. If Polkit-1 is disabled and for versions lower than 2.0.6, any local user can possibly exploit this. If Polkit-1 is enabled for version 2.0.6 and later, a possible attacker needs to be allowed to use the org.blueman.dhcp.client action. That is limited to users in the wheel group in the shipped rules file that do have the privileges anyway. On systems with ISC DHCP client (dhclient), attackers can pass arguments to ip link with the interface name that can e.g. be used to bring down an interface or add an arbitrary XDP/BPF program. On systems with dhcpcd and without ISC DHCP client, attackers can even run arbitrary scripts by passing -c/path/to/script as an interface name. Patches are included in 2.1.4 and master that change the DhcpClient D-Bus method(s) to accept BlueZ network object paths instead of network interface names. A backport to 2.0(.8) is also available. As a workaround, make sure that Polkit-1-support is enabled and limit privileges for the org.blueman.dhcp.client action to users that are able to run arbitrary commands as root anyway in /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/blueman.rules.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-15238- CVSS 3.1
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-15238
7.0
Blueman is a GTK+ Bluetooth Manager. In Blueman before 2.1.4, the DhcpClient method of the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism is prone to an argument injection vulnerability. The impact highly depends on the system configuration. If Polkit-1 is disabled and for versions lower than 2.0.6, any local user can possibly exploit this. If Polkit-1 is enabled for version 2.0.6 and later, a possible attacker needs to be allowed to use the org.blueman.dhcp.client action. That is limited to users in the wheel group in the shipped rules file that do have the privileges anyway. On systems with ISC DHCP client (dhclient), attackers can pass arguments to ip link with the interface name that can e.g. be used to bring down an interface or add an arbitrary XDP/BPF program. On systems with dhcpcd and without ISC DHCP client, attackers can even run arbitrary scripts by passing -c/path/to/script as an interface name. Patches are included in 2.1.4 and master that change the DhcpClient D-Bus method(s) to accept BlueZ network object paths instead of network interface names. A backport to 2.0(.8) is also available. As a workaround, make sure that Polkit-1-support is enabled and limit privileges for the org.blueman.dhcp.client action to users that are able to run arbitrary commands as root anyway in /usr/share/polkit-1/rules.d/blueman.rules.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-15238- CVSS 3.1
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 5 moreShow less
OSVMGASA-2020-0402 No score
Updated blueman packages fixes a security vulnerability
Vaisha Bernard discovered that blueman did not properly sanitize input on the D-Bus interface to blueman-mechanism. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to escalate privileges and run arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (CVE-2020-15238).
- Record
MGASA-2020-0402- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2020:1997-1 No score
Security update for blueman
This update for blueman fixes the following issues:
- Update to version 2.1.4
- CVE-2020-15238: Fixed a local denial-of-service in the D-Bus interface (boo#1178196)
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2020:1997-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2020:2024-1 No score
Security update for blueman
This update for blueman fixes the following issues:
- Update to version 2.1.4
- CVE-2020-15238: Fixed a local denial-of-service in the D-Bus interface (boo#1178196)
This update was imported from the openSUSE:Leap:15.2:Update update project.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2020:2024-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10656-1 No score
blueman-2.2.1-1.2 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the blueman-2.2.1-1.2 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10656-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-4605-1 No score
blueman vulnerability
Vaisha Bernard discovered that blueman did not properly sanitize input on the d-bus interface to blueman-mechanism. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to escalate privileges and run arbitrary code or cause a denial of service. (CVE-2020-15238)
- Record
USN-4605-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
bluemanDebian:12 |
before 2.1.4-1 | 2.1.4-1 |
bluemanDebian:13 |
before 2.1.4-1 | 2.1.4-1 |
bluemanDebian:14 |
before 2.1.4-1 | 2.1.4-1 |
bluemanDebian:9 |
before 2.0.4-1+deb9u1, plus listed versions 2.0.4-1 |
2.0.4-1+deb9u1 |
bluemanDebian:10 |
before 2.0.8-1+deb10u1, plus listed versions 2.0.8-1 |
2.0.8-1+deb10u1 |
bluemanMageia:7 |
before 2.1.4-1.mga7 | 2.1.4-1.mga7 |
bluemanUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
before 2.0.4-1ubuntu2.1, plus listed versions 2.0-1ubuntu12.0.3-1ubuntu12.0.4-1ubuntu12.0.4-1ubuntu2 |
2.0.4-1ubuntu2.1 |
bluemanUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
before 2.0.5-1ubuntu1.1, plus listed versions 2.0.4-1ubuntu32.0.5-1ubuntu1 |
2.0.5-1ubuntu1.1 |
bluemanUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
before 2.1.2-1ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions 2.0.8-1ubuntu12.1.1-12.1.2-1 |
2.1.2-1ubuntu0.1 |
bluemanSUSE:Package Hub 15 SP2 |
before 2.1.4-bp152.2.3.1 | 2.1.4-bp152.2.3.1 |
bluemanopenSUSE:Leap 15.2 |
before 2.1.4-bp152.2.3.1 | 2.1.4-bp152.2.3.1 |
bluemanSUSE:Package Hub 15 SP2 |
before 2.1.4-bp152.2.6.1 | 2.1.4-bp152.2.6.1 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB | Blueman < 2.1.4 - Local Privilege Escalation | 2020-10-28 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, Exploit-DB, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-15238 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.1) in Blueman-project Blueman, published October 27, 2020. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 4.59%, the 91st percentile. Fixed in blueman 2.1.4-1.
References
github.com/blueman-project/blueman/security/advisories/GHSA-jpc9-mgw6-2xwx
github.com/blueman-project/blueman/releases/tag/2.1.4
bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/blueman/+bug/1897287
debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4781
packetstormsecurity.com/files/159740/Blueman-Local-Root-Privilege-Escalation.html
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00005.html
Show 16 moreShow less
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6CFLMNHAHX5HPIKC5IG6F25HO5Z6RH2N
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/W52NP7HRFTNAVNZLGKY4GR3JIZG5KKGS
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/3F4EQU6CAPBKAPJ42HTB473NJLXFKB32
security.gentoo.org/glsa/202011-11
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-15238
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2020-0402.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=27485
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4605-1
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-15238
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4605-2
eyecontrol.nl/blog/the-story-of-3-cves-in-ubuntu-desktop.html
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15238
lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/76TEVIDBCJFLHPLRZ5MVJSBDA4ETTWSP
bugzilla.suse.com/1178196
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15238
lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/ZRBKJO47KUXI63HQ5CAXONKVOHGJMORZ