1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-3863-1

USN-3863-1: APT vulnerability

Publication date

22 January 2019

Overview

An attacker could trick APT into installing altered packages.

Releases

Packages

  • apt - Advanced front-end for dpkg

Details

Max Justicz discovered that APT incorrectly handled certain parameters
during redirects. If a remote attacker were able to perform a
machine-in-the-middle attack, this flaw could potentially be used to install
altered packages.

Max Justicz discovered that APT incorrectly handled certain parameters
during redirects. If a remote attacker were able to perform a
machine-in-the-middle attack, this flaw could potentially be used to install
altered packages.

Update instructions

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

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

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

Ubuntu Release Package Version
18.10 cosmic apt –  1.7.0ubuntu0.1
18.04 LTS bionic apt –  1.6.6ubuntu0.1
16.04 LTS xenial apt –  1.2.29ubuntu0.1
14.04 LTS trusty apt –  1.0.1ubuntu2.19

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.

Get Ubuntu Pro

References

Have additional questions?

Talk to a member of the team ›