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NVD / CVE Program· CNA canonical

CVE-2020-16121: PackageKit error messages leak presence and mimetype of files to unprivileged users

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 13/100)

  • 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: 0.46% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: packagekit (Debian:12) 1.2.1-1; packagekit (Debian:9) 1.1.5-2+deb9u2; PackageKit (openSUSE:Leap 15.1) 1.1.10-lp151.8.12.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to packagekit (Debian:12) 1.2.1-1; packagekit (Debian:9) 1.1.5-2+deb9u2; PackageKit (openSUSE:Leap 15.1) 1.1.10-lp151.8.12.1 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

PackageKit provided detailed error messages to unprivileged callers that exposed information about file presence and mimetype of files that the user would be unable to determine on its own.

LowCVSS 3.3 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Nov 7, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.4% · 40th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

13

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
13 / 40 · 3.3 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.4%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
3.3
CNA · canonical
3.3
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
packagekit projectpackagekit
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 linux20.04
  • packagekit project packagekitall versions

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.

  • PackageKit PackageKit

    • 1.1.13-2ubuntu and later · before 1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1affected
    • 1.1.9-1ubuntu2 and later · before 1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6affected
    • 0.8.17-4ubuntu6 and later · before 0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5affected

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12packagekitbefore 1.2.1-11.2.1-1
Debian:9packagekitbefore 1.1.5-2+deb9u21.1.5-2+deb9u2
openSUSE:Leap 15.1PackageKitbefore 1.1.10-lp151.8.12.11.1.10-lp151.8.12.1
openSUSE:Leap 15.2PackageKitbefore 1.1.13-lp152.3.15.11.1.13-lp152.3.15.1
openSUSE:TumbleweedPackageKitbefore 1.2.2-13.21.2.2-13.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP1PackageKitbefore 1.1.10-12.10.11.1.10-12.10.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP2PackageKitbefore 1.1.13-4.14.21.1.13-4.14.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5PackageKitbefore 1.1.3-24.15.11.1.3-24.15.1

Same product

packagekit project: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-41651PackageKit vulnerable to TOCTOU Race on Transaction Flags leads to arbitrary package installation as root
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2020-16122Packagekit's apt backend lets user install untrusted local packages
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2018-1106An authentication bypass flaw has been found in PackageKit before 1.1.10 that allows users without administrator privileges to install signe
    22Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2013-1764Apr 16, 2014 · The Zypper (aka zypp) backend in PackageKit before 0.8.8 allows local users to downgrade packages via the "install updates" method.
    8Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2011-2515Nov 27, 2019 · PackageKit 0.6.17 allows installation of unsigned RPM packages as though they were signed which may allow installation of non-trusted packag
    21Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2022-0987Jun 28, 2022 · A flaw was found in PackageKit in the way some of the methods exposed by the Transaction interface examines files.
    13Monitor

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
debian:packagekit1.2.1-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:PackageKit1.1.10-lp151.8.12.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.1Package registry (OSV)
suse:PackageKit1.1.10-12.10.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP1Package 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.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
none
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-209 · Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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

References

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

All records