CVE-2018-6552
Apport treats the container PID as the global PID when /proc/<global_pid>/ is missing
Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion, possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The is_same_ns() function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the host_pid variable when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions 2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
7.8
Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion, possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The is_same_ns() function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the host_pid variable when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions 2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.
- Record
CVE-2018-6552- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Apport treats the container PID as the global PID when /proc/<global_pid>/ is missing
Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion, possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The is_same_ns() function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the host_pid variable when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions 2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.
- Record
CVE-2018-6552- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-18304 No score
Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion, possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The is_same_ns() function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the host_pid variable when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions 2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.
- Record
EUVD-2018-18304- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-4pgc-f487-53cr
7.8
Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to...
Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion, possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The is_same_ns() function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the host_pid variable when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions 2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.
- Record
GHSA-4pgc-f487-53cr- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2018-6552
7.8
Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion, possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The is_same_ns() function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the host_pid variable when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions 2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2018-6552- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3664-1 No score
apport vulnerability
Sander Bos discovered that Apport incorrectly handled core dumps when certain files are missing from /proc. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service, gain root privileges, or escape from containers.
- Record
USN-3664-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3664-2 No score
apport vulnerability
USN-3664-1 fixed a vulnerability in Apport. Sander Bos reported that Ubuntu 14.04 LTS was also vulnerable to this issue, but was incorrectly omitted from the previous updates. This update provides the corresponding update for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
Original advisory details:
Sander Bos discovered that Apport incorrectly handled core dumps when certain files are missing from /proc. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service, gain root privileges, or escape from containers.
- Record
USN-3664-2- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
apportUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
before 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29, plus listed versions 2.12.5-0ubuntu22.12.6-0ubuntu12.12.7-0ubuntu12.12.7-0ubuntu22.12.7-0ubuntu3 Show 36 moreShow less2.12.7-0ubuntu62.13.1-0ubuntu12.13.1-0ubuntu22.13.2-0ubuntu22.13.2-0ubuntu32.13.2-0ubuntu42.13.2-0ubuntu52.13.3-0ubuntu12.14-0ubuntu12.14.1-0ubuntu12.14.1-0ubuntu22.14.1-0ubuntu32.14.1-0ubuntu3.12.14.1-0ubuntu3.22.14.1-0ubuntu3.32.14.1-0ubuntu3.42.14.1-0ubuntu3.52.14.1-0ubuntu3.62.14.1-0ubuntu3.72.14.1-0ubuntu3.82.14.1-0ubuntu3.92.14.1-0ubuntu3.102.14.1-0ubuntu3.112.14.1-0ubuntu3.122.14.1-0ubuntu3.132.14.1-0ubuntu3.152.14.1-0ubuntu3.162.14.1-0ubuntu3.182.14.1-0ubuntu3.192.14.1-0ubuntu3.202.14.1-0ubuntu3.212.14.1-0ubuntu3.232.14.1-0ubuntu3.242.14.1-0ubuntu3.252.14.1-0ubuntu3.272.14.1-0ubuntu3.28 |
2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29 |
apportUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
before 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.18, plus listed versions 2.19.1-0ubuntu32.19.2-0ubuntu12.19.2-0ubuntu22.19.2-0ubuntu32.19.2-0ubuntu4 Show 26 moreShow less2.19.2-0ubuntu52.19.2-0ubuntu62.19.2-0ubuntu82.19.2-0ubuntu92.19.3-0ubuntu12.19.3-0ubuntu22.19.3-0ubuntu32.19.4-0ubuntu12.19.4-0ubuntu22.20-0ubuntu22.20-0ubuntu32.20.1-0ubuntu12.20.1-0ubuntu22.20.1-0ubuntu2.12.20.1-0ubuntu2.22.20.1-0ubuntu2.42.20.1-0ubuntu2.52.20.1-0ubuntu2.62.20.1-0ubuntu2.92.20.1-0ubuntu2.102.20.1-0ubuntu2.122.20.1-0ubuntu2.132.20.1-0ubuntu2.142.20.1-0ubuntu2.152.20.1-0ubuntu2.162.20.1-0ubuntu2.17 |
2.20.1-0ubuntu2.18 |
apportUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
before 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.1, plus listed versions 2.20.7-0ubuntu32.20.7-0ubuntu3.12.20.7-0ubuntu42.20.8-0ubuntu12.20.8-0ubuntu2 Show 14 moreShow less2.20.8-0ubuntu32.20.8-0ubuntu42.20.8-0ubuntu52.20.8-0ubuntu62.20.8-0ubuntu72.20.8-0ubuntu82.20.8-0ubuntu92.20.8-0ubuntu102.20.9-0ubuntu12.20.9-0ubuntu22.20.9-0ubuntu42.20.9-0ubuntu52.20.9-0ubuntu62.20.9-0ubuntu7 |
2.20.9-0ubuntu7.1 |
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-2018-6552 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Apport Project Apport, published May 30, 2018. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.39%, the 33rd percentile. Fixed in apport 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29.