CVE-2020-16122: Canonical Ubuntu Linux

High severity, CVSS 7.8. EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

PackageKit's apt backend mistakenly treated all local debs as trusted. The apt security model is based on repository trust and not on the contents of individual files. On sites with configured PolicyKit rules this may allow users to install malicious packages.

Affected products

• Canonical Ubuntu Linux: version 16.04 only; version 18.04 only; version 20.04 only
• Packagekit Project Packagekit: affected versions not specified

Published 2020-11-07. Last modified 2026-06-17.