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TizenOperating system · Linux

CVE-2018-16266

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-01-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
86/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The Enlightenment system service in Tizen allows an unprivileged process to fully control or capture windows, due to improper D-Bus security policy configurations. This affects Tizen before 5.0 M1, and Tizen-based firmwares including Samsung Galaxy Gear series before build RE2.

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 confidence

The Enlightenment system service in Tizen contains improper D-Bus security policy configurations that allow an unprivileged process to invoke privileged methods, enabling full control over or capture of windows from other applications. This is a service authorization failure where D-Bus method access controls are either missing or incorrectly configured.

MitigationUpdate Tizen to version 5.0 M1 or later which contains corrected D-Bus security policies, or manually restrict the Enlightenment service's D-Bus method permissions to prevent unprivileged access to window control interfaces.

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
TizenOperating system
Affected:= 1.0= 2.0= 2.1= 2.2= 2.2.1= 2.3= 2.3.1= 2.4= 3.0= 4.0= 5.0

CVSS 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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if the system is running Tizen
    Check for Tizen-specific markers: look for /etc/tizen-release or /usr/lib/tizen-release, or examine /etc/os-release for 'Tizen' in the NAME or ID fields
    Affected if The system is not Tizen-based (this CVE only applies to Tizen)
  2. Check the Tizen version
    Read the version from /etc/tizen-release or from /etc/os-release (VERSION_ID field). Compare against the affected range: 1.0 through 5.0
    Affected if The installed Tizen version is 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.2.1, 2.3, 2.3.1, 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0
  3. Confirm Enlightenment service is present
    Check if the Enlightenment D-Bus service exists: look for policy files in /etc/dbus-1/system.d/ containing 'enlightenment' or 'enlightenment.conf', or list D-Bus system services related to enlightenment using dbus-send --system --dest=org.freedesktop.DBus --type=method_call --print-reply /org/freedesktop/DBus org.freedesktop.DBus.ListNames
    Affected if Enlightenment service is not present on the system
  4. Inspect D-Bus security policy for Enlightenment
    Examine the Enlightenment D-Bus policy file in /etc/dbus-1/system.d/ (typically enlightenment.conf or similar). Look for <allow> elements with missing or overly permissive <send_method_call> permissions, particularly for window control or capture interfaces. Check if any unprivileged connection is permitted to invoke privileged methods
    Affected if The D-Bus policy allows unprivileged processes to call privileged methods on the Enlightenment service (missing or permissive <send_method_call> rules, or absent <policy> restrictions for the connection)
  5. Verify D-Bus method access controls are missing or misconfigured
    Review the policy XML for sections governing method access. Look for: (1) absence of <policy user="..."> with explicit <deny> rules, (2) presence of <allow> without corresponding authentication requirements, or (3) missing interface-specific method restrictions. Compare against secure D-Bus policy patterns
    Affected if The Enlightenment D-Bus interface lacks proper <deny> rules or authentication constraints for sensitive window control methods, enabling unprivileged access

A system is affected if it runs Tizen versions 1.0 through 5.0 with the Enlightenment service and has permissive or missing D-Bus method access controls that allow unprivileged processes to invoke privileged window control methods.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Tizen to version 5.0 M1 or later which contains corrected D-Bus security policies, or manually restrict the Enlightenment service's D-Bus method permissions to prevent unprivileged access to window control interfaces.

Fix this in Tizen Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-16266 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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