Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2018-1106
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn authentication bypass flaw has been found in PackageKit before 1.1.10 that allows users without administrator privileges to install signed packages. A local attacker can use this vulnerability to install vulnerable packages to further compromise a system.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencePackageKit before version 1.1.10 contains an authentication bypass flaw that allows unprivileged local users to install signed packages without administrator credentials. This enables a local attacker to escalate privileges by installing malicious or vulnerable packages to further compromise the system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 7.0
Enterprise Linux Server AusOperating system
= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server EusOperating system
= 7.5= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server TusOperating system
= 7.6
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 7.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 17.10
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify PackageKit is installedRun: rpm -qa | grep -i packagekit (RHEL/Debian) or dpkg -l | grep -i packagekit (Ubuntu)Affected if PackageKit is not installed on the system
-
Check installed PackageKit versionRun: rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE}' packagekit (RHEL) or dpkg -s packagekit (Ubuntu/Debian)Affected if Version is lower than 1.1.10 (e.g., 1.1.x versions before 1.1.10)
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Confirm PackageKit daemon is runningRun: systemctl status packagekit (systemd) or service packagekit status (sysvinit)Affected if PackageKit daemon is active and running on the system
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Check polkit authentication configuration for PackageKitInspect polkit configuration files in /etc/polkit-1/localauthority/ or /usr/share/polkit-1/ for rules allowing unprivileged package installation actions such as org.freedesktop.packagekit.install-or-update or org.freedesktop.packagekit.system-updateAffected if Polkit rules permit any local user to perform package installation actions without authentication
System is affected if PackageKit version is below 1.1.10 AND the PackageKit daemon is running AND polkit configuration allows unprivileged users to install packages without credentials
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate PackageKit to version 1.1.10 or later to remediate this authentication bypass vulnerability.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1106 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-1106 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data