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NVD / CVE Program· CNA canonical

CVE-2020-11934: Sandbox escape vulnerability via snapctl user-open (xdg-open)

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 23/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.36% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Canonical snapd 2.45.1+18.04.2, 2.45.1+20.04.2.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Canonical snapd 2.45.1+18.04.2, 2.45.1+20.04.2 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

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.

MediumCVSS 5.9 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jul 29, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 30th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

23

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
23 / 40 · 5.9 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
5.9
CNA · canonical
5.9
agree

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
canonicalubuntu linux

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • canonical ubuntu linux16.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux18.04
  • canonical ubuntu linux19.10
  • canonical ubuntu linux20.04

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (canonical). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Canonical snapd

    • 2.45.1 and later · before 2.45.1ubuntu0.2affectedfixed in 2.45.1+18.04.2, 2.45.1+20.04.2

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12snapdbefore 2.45.2-12.45.2-1

Same product

canonical: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2021-3493The overlayfs implementation in the linux kernel did not properly validate with respect to user namespaces the setting of file capabilities KEV
    76This week
  • CVE-2017-14492Heap-based buffer overflow in dnsmasq before 2.78 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code via
    67This week
  • CVE-2017-14493Stack-based buffer overflow in dnsmasq before 2.78 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code vi
    65This week

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-8831Apr 22, 2020 · World writable root owned lock file created in user controllable location
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-8833Apr 22, 2020 · Apport race condition in crash report permissions
    18Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2020-15708Nov 5, 2020 · Libvirt Service Arbitrary File Write Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
    31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Canonical snapd2.45.1+18.04.2Vendor (CNA)
Canonical snapd2.45.1+20.04.2Vendor (CNA)
debian:snapd2.45.2-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-668 · Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records