CVE-2026-19816: Auth Bypass (CVSS 7.1)

Description

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.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.1

HIGH

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0014

Probability of exploitation

0.04%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization

References

Other References

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2515940 https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/commit/33be77b3ecd3b566ca117358dc18c58c964e627b https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/security/advisories/GHSA-g5gf-h68q-gxc8

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-19816? +

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. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-19816? +

CVE-2026-19816 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.1 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0014, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-19816? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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