Ubuntu 20.04 LTS: USN-4668-1 Critical: python-apt DoS Attack

ubuntu

December 9, 2020

python-apt could be made to crash if it opened a specially crafted file.

Summary

python-apt could be made to crash if it opened a specially crafted file.

Software Description:

- python-apt: Python interface to libapt-pkg

Details:

Kevin Backhouse discovered that python-apt incorrectly handled resources. A

local attacker could possibly use this issue to cause python-apt to consume

resources, leading to a denial of service.

Topics Covered

security advisory denial of service DoS Ubuntu vulnerability critical advisory python-apt

Update Instructions

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

Ubuntu 20.10:
  python3-apt                     2.1.3ubuntu1.1

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS:
  python-apt                      2.0.0ubuntu0.20.04.2
  python3-apt                     2.0.0ubuntu0.20.04.2

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS:
  python-apt                      1.6.5ubuntu0.4
  python3-apt                     1.6.5ubuntu0.4

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS:
  python-apt                      1.1.0~beta1ubuntu0.16.04.10
  python3-apt                     1.1.0~beta1ubuntu0.16.04.10

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