Vulnerability-Lookup

GHSA-4M5M-X42P-VRWG

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-16 15:33 – Updated: 2026-07-16 15:33

Details

An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (formerly ubuntu-advantage-tools). The client validates Ubuntu Pro APT credentials by executing /usr/lib/apt/apt-helper using the download-file command. During this process, the secret bearer token is embedded directly in the cleartext URL component passed via the command-line arguments (argv), resulting in a URL format such as https://bearer:@esm.ubuntu.com/.../. On systems utilizing a default-mounted /proc file system where process-hiding mitigations (such as hidepid) are disabled, an unprivileged local attacker can monitor system processes and read the sensitive bearer token directly from /proc/cmdline while the helper process is actively running. This leaked token can subsequently be used to gain unauthorized access to the victim's Ubuntu Pro or Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) repositories.

Severity

5.5 (Medium)


                  
                    CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-9494"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-214"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-07-16T13:16:34Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (formerly ubuntu-advantage-tools). The client validates Ubuntu Pro APT credentials by executing /usr/lib/apt/apt-helper using the download-file command. During this process, the secret bearer token is embedded directly in\nthe cleartext URL component passed via the command-line arguments (argv), resulting in a URL format such as https://bearer:\u003ctoken\u003e@esm.ubuntu.com/.../. On systems utilizing a default-mounted /proc file system where process-hiding mitigations (such as hidepid) are disabled, an unprivileged local attacker can\nmonitor system processes and read the sensitive bearer token directly from /proc/cmdline while the helper process is actively running. This leaked token can subsequently be used to gain unauthorized access to the victim\u0027s Ubuntu Pro or Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) repositories.",
  "id": "GHSA-4m5m-x42p-vrwg",
  "modified": "2026-07-16T15:33:10Z",
  "published": "2026-07-16T15:33:10Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9494"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-9494"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

CVE-2026-9494 (GCVE-0-2026-9494)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-07-16 12:12 – Updated: 2026-07-16 15:11

Title

ubuntu-pro-client Information Disclosure via Cleartext Bearer Token Exposure in Process Command Line

Summary

An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (formerly ubuntu-advantage-tools). The client validates Ubuntu Pro APT credentials by executing /usr/lib/apt/apt-helper using the download-file command. During this process, the secret bearer token is embedded directly in the cleartext URL component passed via the command-line arguments (argv), resulting in a URL format such as https://bearer:<token>@esm.ubuntu.com/.../. On systems utilizing a default-mounted /proc file system where process-hiding mitigations (such as hidepid) are disabled, an unprivileged local attacker can monitor system processes and read the sensitive bearer token directly from /proc/cmdline while the helper process is actively running. This leaked token can subsequently be used to gain unauthorized access to the victim's Ubuntu Pro or Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) repositories.

Severity

5.5 (Medium)


                        
                          CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

SSVC

Exploitation: none Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial

CISA Coordinator (v2.0.3)

CWE

CWE-214 - Invocation of process using visible sensitive information

Assigner

canonical

References

1 reference

URL	Tags
https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-9494	vdb-entry

Impacted products

8 products

Vendor	Product	Version
Canonical	ubuntu-pro-client (ubuntu-advantage-tools)	Affected: 0 , < 37.3 (python)
Canonical	Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	Unaffected: 37.2ubuntu0.1 (dpkg)
Canonical	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	Unaffected: 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1 (dpkg)
Canonical	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS	Unaffected: 37.2ubuntu~22.04.1 (dpkg)
Canonical	Ubuntu 20.04 LTS	Unaffected: 37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1 (dpkg)
Canonical	Ubuntu 18.04 LTS	Unaffected: 37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1 (dpkg)
Canonical	Ubuntu 16.04 LTS	Unaffected: 37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1 (dpkg)
Canonical	Ubuntu 14.04 LTS	Unaffected: 19.7ubuntu0.1 (dpkg)

Date Public

2026-07-16 12:00

Credits

Bilal Teke

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JSON

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Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

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GHSA-4M5M-X42P-VRWG

CVE-2026-9494 (GCVE-0-2026-9494)

Tags

Sightings

Nomenclature