Flatpak is a Linux application sandboxing and distribution framework. A path traversal vulnerability affects versions of Flatpak prior to 1.12.3 and 1.10.6. flatpak-builder applies `finish-args` last in the build. At this point the build directory will have the full access that is specified in the manifest, so running `flatpak build` against it will gain those permissions. Normally this will not be done, so this is not problem. However, if `--mirror-screenshots-url` is specified, then flatpak-builder will launch `flatpak build --nofilesystem=host appstream-utils mirror-screenshots` after finalization, which can lead to issues even with the `--nofilesystem=host` protection. In normal use, the only issue is that these empty directories can be created wherever the user has write permissions. However, a malicious application could replace the `appstream-util` binary and potentially do something more hostile. This has been resolved in Flatpak 1.12.3 and 1.10.6 by changing the behaviour of `--nofilesystem=home` and `--nofilesystem=host`.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.7, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts integrity (unauthorized modifications), for affected systems. Impacting 5 products from flatpak, from flatpak, from fedoraproject and 2 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2022, 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.
2022-01-13T21:15:08.690
2024-11-21T06:45:13.327
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 7.7 (HIGH)
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N
8.0
2.9
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | flatpak | flatpak | < 1.10.7 | Yes |
| Application | flatpak | flatpak | < 1.12.4 | Yes |
| Application | flatpak | flatpak-builder | < 1.2.2 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 35 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux | 8.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 9.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 10.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 11.0 | 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.