CVE-2026-19816: PackageKit: dnf5 backend ignores SIMULATE on RepoRemove

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.

Affected products

Version statuses are supplied by the assigning organization. Consult the original record for detailed ranges and platform conditions.