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Ubuntu Security Notice USN-7916-2
January 15, 2026

python-apt regression
==========================================================================

A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:

- Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Summary:

USN-7916-1 introduced a regression in python-apt

Software Description:
- python-apt: Python interface to libapt-pkg

Details:

USN-7916-1 fixed a vulnerability in python-apt. The update had a
PEP 440 incompatible version. This update fixes the problem.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Original advisory details:

 Julian Andres Klode discovered that python-apt incorrectly handled
 deb822 configuration files. An attacker could use this issue to cause
 python-apt to crash, resulting in a denial of service.

Update instructions:

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following
package versions:

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
  python-apt                      2.0.1ubuntu0.20.04.2esm2
                                  Available with Ubuntu Pro
  python-apt-common               2.0.1ubuntu0.20.04.2esm2
                                  Available with Ubuntu Pro
  python-apt-dev                  2.0.1ubuntu0.20.04.2esm2
                                  Available with Ubuntu Pro
  python-apt-doc                  2.0.1ubuntu0.20.04.2esm2
                                  Available with Ubuntu Pro
  python3-apt                     2.0.1ubuntu0.20.04.2esm2
                                  Available with Ubuntu Pro

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

References:
  https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7916-2
  https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7916-1
  CVE-2025-6966, https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2137070