{"id":"UBUNTU-CVE-2026-19816","details":"A flaw was found in PackageKit. PackageKit skips the polkit authorization check for transactions carrying the SIMULATE (dry-run) flag. In the dnf5 backend, the RepoRemove handler ignores that contract and always executes the real transaction because its guard is written as (role == REPO_REMOVE || !SIMULATE), which is always true for RepoRemove. An unprivileged local user can therefore perform a genuine package uninstall while claiming to simulate. This vulnerability only affects systems using PackageKit with the dnf5 backend.","modified":"2026-09-16T14:01:42.258897418Z","published":"2026-09-14T20:16:00Z","upstream":["CVE-2026-19816"],"references":[{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-19816"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19816"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2515940"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/security/advisories/GHSA-g5gf-h68q-gxc8"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"packagekit","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit?arch=source&distro=esm-infra%2Fxenial"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.3","0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1","0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.1","0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.2","0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.3","0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.4","0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5","0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0","binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"},{"binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1","binary_name":"gstreamer1.0-packagekit"},{"binary_name":"libpackagekit-glib2-16","binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"},{"binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1","binary_name":"packagekit"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-backend-aptcc","binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-backend-smart","binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-docs","binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-gtk3-module","binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1"},{"binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1","binary_name":"packagekit-tools"},{"binary_version":"0.8.17-4ubuntu6~gcc5.4ubuntu1.5+esm1","binary_name":"python3-packagekit"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2026/UBUNTU-CVE-2026-19816.json"}},{"package":{"name":"packagekit","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit?arch=source&distro=esm-infra%2Fbionic"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["1.1.7-1","1.1.9-1","1.1.9-1ubuntu1","1.1.9-1ubuntu2","1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.1","1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.3","1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.4","1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.5","1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6","1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0","binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"},{"binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1","binary_name":"gstreamer1.0-packagekit"},{"binary_name":"libpackagekit-glib2-18","binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit","binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-command-not-found","binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-docs","binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"},{"binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1","binary_name":"packagekit-gtk3-module"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-tools","binary_version":"1.1.9-1ubuntu2.18.04.6+esm1"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2026/UBUNTU-CVE-2026-19816.json"}},{"package":{"name":"packagekit","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit?arch=source&distro=esm-infra%2Ffocal"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["1.1.12-5ubuntu4","1.1.13-1","1.1.13-2","1.1.13-2build1","1.1.13-2ubuntu1","1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1","1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0","binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"},{"binary_name":"gstreamer1.0-packagekit","binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"},{"binary_name":"libpackagekit-glib2-18","binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"},{"binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1","binary_name":"packagekit"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-command-not-found","binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-docs","binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-gtk3-module","binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"},{"binary_name":"packagekit-tools","binary_version":"1.1.13-2ubuntu1.1+esm1"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2026/UBUNTU-CVE-2026-19816.json"}},{"package":{"name":"packagekit","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/packagekit?arch=source&distro=jammy"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["1.2.2-2ubuntu3","1.2.4-1ubuntu1","1.2.4-1ubuntu2","1.2.5-1ubuntu1","1.2.5-2ubuntu1","1.2.5-2ubuntu2","1.2.5-2ubuntu3","1.2.5-2ubuntu3.1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0","binary_version":"1.2.5-2ubuntu3.1"},{"binary_name":"gstreamer1.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