---
title: "CVE-2018-6552\n    | Ubuntu"
description: Ubuntu is an open source software operating system that runs from the
  desktop, to the cloud, to all your internet connected things.
url: https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-6552?format=md
keywords: index, follow
---

# CVE-2018-6552

Publication date 30 May 2018

Last updated 25 August 2025

---

Ubuntu priority

**High**

[Why this priority?](https://ubuntu.com/security/cves/about#priority )

## Cvss 3 Severity Score

**7.8 · High**

[Score breakdown](https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-6552?format=md#impact-score)

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## Description

Apport does not properly handle crashes originating from a PID namespace
allowing local users to create certain files as root which an attacker
could leverage to perform a denial of service via resource exhaustion,
possibly gain root privileges, or escape from containers. The is\_same\_ns()
function returns True when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist in order to
indicate that the crash should be handled in the global namespace rather
than inside of a container. However, the portion of the data/apport code
that decides whether or not to forward a crash to a container does not
always replace sys.argv[1] with the value stored in the host\_pid variable
when /proc/<global pid>/ does not exist which results in the container pid
being used in the global namespace. This flaw affects versions
2.20.8-0ubuntu4 through 2.20.9-0ubuntu7, 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.7,
2.20.7-0ubuntu3.8, 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.15 through 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17, and
2.14.1-0ubuntu3.28.

## Status

Show unmaintained releases

| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| apport | 18.04 LTS bionic | Fixed 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.1 |
| 17.10 artful | Fixed 2.20.7-0ubuntu3.9 |
| 16.04 LTS xenial | Fixed 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.18 |
| 14.04 LTS trusty | Fixed 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.29 |

---

* [How can I get the fixes?](https://ubuntu.com/security/cves/about#security)
* [What do statuses mean?](https://ubuntu.com/security/cves/about#statuses)

## Severity score breakdown

CVSS version:
CVSS v3.0

**Base score**

7.8 · High

* Base metrics

  | Parameter | Value |
  | --- | --- |
  | Attack vector | Local |
  | Attack complexity | Low |
  | Privileges required | Low |
  | User interaction | None |
  | Scope | Unchanged |
  | Confidentiality impact | High |
  | Integrity impact | High |
  | Availability impact | High |
* Scores

  | Parameter | Value |
  | --- | --- |
  | Base score | 7.8 · High |
  | Exploitability score | - |
  | Impact score | - |

**Vector:** CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

## References

* [MITRE](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-6552)
* [NVD](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-6552)
* [Launchpad](https://launchpad.net/bugs/cve/CVE-2018-6552)
* [Debian](https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2018-6552)

### Related Ubuntu Security Notices (USN)

+ [USN-3664-1](https://usn.ubuntu.com/USN-3664-1)
+ Apport vulnerability
+ 30 May 2018

+ [USN-3664-2](https://usn.ubuntu.com/USN-3664-2)
+ Apport vulnerability
+ 4 June 2018

### Other references

* <http://www.sbosnet.nl/>
* <https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-6552>