1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-1385-1

USN-1385-1: APT vulnerability

Publication date

6 March 2012

Overview

An attacker could trick APT into installing altered packages.

Releases

Packages

  • apt - Advanced front-end for dpkg

Details

Simon Ruderich discovered that APT incorrectly handled repositories that
use InRelease files. The default Ubuntu repositories do not use InRelease
files, so this issue only affected third-party repositories. If a remote
attacker were able to perform a machine-in-the-middle attack, this flaw could
potentially be used to install altered packages.

Simon Ruderich discovered that APT incorrectly handled repositories that
use InRelease files. The default Ubuntu repositories do not use InRelease
files, so this issue only affected third-party repositories. 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
11.10 oneiric apt –  0.8.16~exp5ubuntu13.2
11.04 natty apt –  0.8.13.2ubuntu4.4

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References

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