Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. In Flatpack since version 0.9.4 and before version 1.10.2 has a vulnerability in the "file forwarding" feature which can be used by an attacker to gain access to files that would not ordinarily be allowed by the app's permissions. By putting the special tokens `@@` and/or `@@u` in the Exec field of a Flatpak app's .desktop file, a malicious app publisher can trick flatpak into behaving as though the user had chosen to open a target file with their Flatpak app, which automatically makes that file available to the Flatpak app. This is fixed in version 1.10.2. A minimal solution is the first commit "`Disallow @@ and @@U usage in desktop files`". The follow-up commits "`dir: Reserve the whole @@ prefix`" and "`dir: Refuse to export .desktop files with suspicious uses of @@ tokens`" are recommended, but not strictly required. As a workaround, avoid installing Flatpak apps from untrusted sources, or check the contents of the exported `.desktop` files in `exports/share/applications/*.desktop` (typically `~/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share/applications/*.desktop` and `/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/applications/*.desktop`) to make sure that literal filenames do not follow `@@` or `@@u`.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.1, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited data confidentiality, integrity (unauthorized modifications), for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from flatpak, from debian, from fedoraproject organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2021-03-11T17:15:12.703
2024-11-21T05:48:14.423
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 7.1 (HIGH)
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
8.6
4.9
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | flatpak | flatpak | < 1.10.2 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 10.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 33 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 34 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For flatpak's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.