{"id":"CVE-2026-61897","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"accountsservice: incomplete privilege drop when running Ubuntu-specific language helper scripts","description":"An Ubuntu-specific patch to AccountsService before 23.13.9-8ubuntu7 only partially drops privileges before launching language helper scripts. It changes the effective UID/GID to the target user but leaves the real UID as 0 (root). A shell spawned by a helper script inherits ruid=0 and may reset its effective UID to root, enabling local privilege escalation.","publishedAt":"2026-08-20T14:32:53.827Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-26T19:50:49.398Z","severity":{"score":7.8,"label":"High","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","source":"canonical"},"assigner":"canonical","products":["Canonical accountsservice"],"affected":[{"vendor":"Canonical","product":"accountsservice","packageName":"accountsservice","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"22.07.5-2ubuntu1","status":"affected","lessThan":"22.07.5-2ubuntu1.6","versionType":"dpkg"},{"version":"23.13.9-2ubuntu6","status":"affected","lessThan":"23.13.9-2ubuntu6.1","versionType":"dpkg"},{"version":"23.13.9-8ubuntu5","status":"affected","lessThan":"23.13.9-8ubuntu5.2","versionType":"dpkg"},{"version":"23.13.9-8ubuntu6","status":"affected","lessThan":"23.13.9-8ubuntu7","versionType":"dpkg"}],"platforms":["Ubuntu 14.04 LTS","Ubuntu 16.04 LTS","Ubuntu 18.04 LTS","Ubuntu 20.04 LTS","Ubuntu 22.04 LTS","Ubuntu 24.04 LTS","Ubuntu 26.04 LTS","Ubuntu 26.10"]}],"references":["https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/accountsservice/+bug/2157985","https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-61897"],"weaknesses":["CWE-273"],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:12:32.778Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2026/61xxx/CVE-2026-61897.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-61897","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2026-08-20T14:32:53.827Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-26T19:50:49.398Z","assignerShortName":"canonical","assignerOrgId":"cc1ad9ee-3454-478d-9317-d3e869d708bc","dateReserved":"2026-07-11T18:43:51.251Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"accountsservice: incomplete privilege drop when running Ubuntu-specific language helper scripts","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"An Ubuntu-specific patch to AccountsService before 23.13.9-8ubuntu7 only partially drops privileges before launching language helper scripts. It changes the effective UID/GID to the target user but leaves the real UID as 0 (root). A shell spawned by a helper script inherits ruid=0 and may reset its effective UID to root, enabling local privilege escalation."}],"affected":[{"vendor":"Canonical","product":"accountsservice","packageName":"accountsservice","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"22.07.5-2ubuntu1","status":"affected","lessThan":"22.07.5-2ubuntu1.6","versionType":"dpkg"},{"version":"23.13.9-2ubuntu6","status":"affected","lessThan":"23.13.9-2ubuntu6.1","versionType":"dpkg"},{"version":"23.13.9-8ubuntu5","status":"affected","lessThan":"23.13.9-8ubuntu5.2","versionType":"dpkg"},{"version":"23.13.9-8ubuntu6","status":"affected","lessThan":"23.13.9-8ubuntu7","versionType":"dpkg"}],"platforms":["Ubuntu 14.04 LTS","Ubuntu 16.04 LTS","Ubuntu 18.04 LTS","Ubuntu 20.04 LTS","Ubuntu 22.04 LTS","Ubuntu 24.04 LTS","Ubuntu 26.04 LTS","Ubuntu 26.10"]}],"references":[{"url":"https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/accountsservice/+bug/2157985","name":"Launchpad Bug #2157985","tags":["issue-tracking"]},{"url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-61897","name":"Ubuntu CVE Tracker","tags":["vendor-advisory"]}],"metrics":[{"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","baseScore":7.8,"baseSeverity":"HIGH"}}],"problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-273","lang":"en","type":"CWE","description":"CWE-273: Improper Check for Dropped Privileges"}]}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"canonical","orgId":"cc1ad9ee-3454-478d-9317-d3e869d708bc","dateUpdated":"2026-08-20T14:32:53.827Z"},"credits":[{"lang":"en","type":"finder","value":"Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH Red Team"}]},"adp":[{"title":"CISA ADP Vulnrichment","metrics":[{"other":{"type":"ssvc","content":{"timestamp":"2026-08-26T19:43:37.600246Z","id":"CVE-2026-61897","options":[{"Exploitation":"none"},{"Automatable":"no"},{"Technical Impact":"total"}],"role":"CISA Coordinator","version":"2.0.3"}}}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"CISA-ADP","orgId":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","dateUpdated":"2026-08-26T19:50:49.398Z"}}]}}}