What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2020-16121: PackageKit error messages leak presence and mimetype of files to unprivileged users

• Severity: low (CVSS 3.3 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: yes
• Published: 2020-11-07 · updated 2026-06-17
• Weakness: CWE-209

Description

PackageKit provided detailed error messages to unprivileged callers that exposed information about file presence and mimetype of files that the user would be unable to determine on its own.

Affected products

• Canonical Ubuntu Linux: 20.04
• PackageKit: all versions

References

• https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/packagekit/+bug/1888887
• https://www.eyecontrol.nl/blog/the-story-of-3-cves-in-ubuntu-desktop.html
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/packagekit/+bug/1888887
• https://www.eyecontrol.nl/blog/the-story-of-3-cves-in-ubuntu-desktop.html

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