CVE-2019-15790: Apport reads and writes information on a crashed process to /proc/pid with elevated privileges

Routine

LOW 2.8WATCHLISTMITIGATEMITIGATE

CVE-2019-15790 is a low-severity flaw (CVSS 2.8) affecting apport, ubuntu linux. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Apport reads and writes information on a crashed process to /proc/pid with elevated privileges. Apport then determines which user the crashed process belongs to by reading /proc/pid through get_pid_info() in data/apport. An unprivileged user could exploit this to read information about a privileged running process by exploiting PID recycling. This information could then be used to obtain ASLR offsets for a process with an existing memory corrupti

Why this priority

Public exploit reference
On your watchlist

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	2.8 (Low)
Attack vector	Local
Attack complexity	High
Privileges needed	Low
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	0.5% (top 56%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-250, CWE-269
Published	2020-04-28
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): Canonical Ltd. · Vendor: apport project · canonical

Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2020-04-28 00:15 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 02:21 UTCUpdated Record last modified

apport project apport MITIGATE

Affected: all versions

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy apport || rpm -q apport || apport --version

No fixed or unaffected release known

Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory, disable the affected feature, or restrict network access.

canonical ubuntu linux MITIGATE

Affected: 14.04 · 16.04 · 18.04 · 19.04 · 19.10

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 14.04

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2019-15790?

apport: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation; ubuntu linux: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2019-15790 being exploited?

CVE-2019-15790 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2019-15790 affect?

CVE-2019-15790 affects apport, ubuntu linux. Severity is low (CVSS 2.8). Apport reads and writes information on a crashed process to /proc/pid with elevated privileges. Apport then determines which user the crashed process belongs to by reading /proc/pid through get_pid_info() in data/apport. An unprivileged use

How urgent is CVE-2019-15790?

Priority 31/100. Public exploit reference; On your watchlist

Software pages

Ubuntu vulnerabilities

Related CVEs

CVE-2025-5467 LOW 3.3 UPGRADE It was discovered that process_crash() in data/apport in Canonical's Apport crash reporting tool may create cr
CVE-2025-5054 MEDIUM 4.7 UPGRADE MITIGATE Race condition in Canonical apport up to and including 2.32.0 allows a local attacker to leak sensitive inform
CVE-2023-1326 HIGH 7.7 UPGRADE MITIGATE A privilege escalation attack was found in apport-cli 2.26.0 and earlier which is similar to CVE-2023-26604
CVE-2022-28653 HIGH 7.5 UPGRADE Users can consume unlimited disk space in /var/crash
CVE-2022-1242 HIGH 7.8 UPGRADE MITIGATE Apport can be tricked into connecting to arbitrary sockets as the root user

References

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