CVE-2021-32555

Local data disclosure via unsafe file reads

Published Jun 12, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Apport read_file() in affected Ubuntu packages allows local users to read private data through crafted symbolic links or FIFOs. The hookutils.py function follows links and opens FIFO paths supplied by xorg-hwe-18.04 apport hooks instead of restricting reads to regular files. Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and yields confidentiality loss without reported integrity or availability impact.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.29%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Apport read_file() in affected Ubuntu packages allows local users to read private data through crafted symbolic links or FIFOs. The hookutils.py function follows links and opens FIFO paths supplied by xorg-hwe-18.04 apport hooks instead of restricting reads to regular files. Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and yields confidentiality loss without reported integrity or availability impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-32555
Published
Jun 12, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Canonical
Product
Apport
Classifications
CWE-61, CWE-59, T1005
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 12, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.14.1-0ubuntu3 <2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29+esm7
  2. Affected versionversion=2.20.11-0ubuntu27 <2.20.11-0ubuntu27.18
  3. Affected versionversion=2.20.11-0ubuntu50 <2.20.11-0ubuntu50.7
  4. Affected versionversion=2.20.11-0ubuntu65 <2.20.11-0ubuntu65.1
  5. Affected versionversion=2.20.1 <2.20.1-0ubuntu2.30+esm1
  6. Affected versionversion=2.20.9 <2.20.9-0ubuntu7.24

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Canonical · Apportversion=2.14.1-0ubuntu3 <2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29+esm7; version=2.20.11-0ubuntu27 <2.20.11-0ubuntu27.18; version=2.20.11-0ubuntu50 <2.20.11-0ubuntu50.7; version=2.20.11-0ubuntu65 <2.20.11-0ubuntu65.1; version=2.20.1 <2.20.1-0ubuntu2.30+esm1; version=2.20.9 <2.20.9-0ubuntu7.24

Published CVSS scores

2.1NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
7.3CanonicalCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-61UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following
CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
T1005Data from Local System

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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