CVE-2020-16120

Summary

CVECVE-2020-16120
StatePUBLIC
Assigner[email protected]
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2021-02-10 20:15:00 UTC
Updated2021-11-18 18:40:00 UTC
DescriptionOverlayfs did not properly perform permission checking when copying up files in an overlayfs and could be exploited from within a user namespace, if, for example, unprivileged user namespaces were allowed. It was possible to have a file not readable by an unprivileged user to be copied to a mountpoint controlled by the user, like a removable device. This was introduced in kernel version 4.19 by commit d1d04ef ("ovl: stack file ops"). This was fixed in kernel version 5.8 by commits 56230d9 ("ovl: verify permissions in ovl_path_open()"), 48bd024 ("ovl: switch to mounter creds in readdir") and 05acefb ("ovl: check permission to open real file"). Additionally, commits 130fdbc ("ovl: pass correct flags for opening real directory") and 292f902 ("ovl: call secutiry hook in ovl_real_ioctl()") in kernel 5.8 might also be desired or necessary. These additional commits introduced a regression in overlay mounts within user namespaces which prevented access to files with ownership outside of the user namespace. This regression was mitigated by subsequent commit b6650da ("ovl: do not fail because of O_NOATIMEi") in kernel 5.11.

Risk And Classification

Problem Types: NVD-CWE-Other

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 14.04 All All All
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 16.04 All All All
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 18.04 All All All
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 20.04 All All All
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 14.04 All All All
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 16.04 All All All
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 18.04 All All All
Operating System Canonical Ubuntu Linux 20.04 All All All
Operating System Linux Linux Kernel All All All All
Operating System Linux Linux Kernel All All All All

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree CONFIRM git.kernel.org Patch, Third Party Advisory
USN-4578-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities | Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu UBUNTU ubuntu.com Third Party Advisory
kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree CONFIRM git.kernel.org Patch, Third Party Advisory
kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree CONFIRM git.kernel.org Patch, Third Party Advisory
Bug #1894980 “CVE-2020-16120: unprivileged overlayfs permission ...” : Bugs : linux package : Ubuntu UBUNTU launchpad.net Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
USN-4576-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities | Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu UBUNTU ubuntu.com Third Party Advisory
kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree CONFIRM git.kernel.org Patch, Third Party Advisory
USN-4577-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities | Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu UBUNTU ubuntu.com Third Party Advisory
kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree CONFIRM git.kernel.org Patch, Third Party Advisory
Bug #1900141 “overlay: permission regression in 5.4.0-51.56 due ...” : Bugs : linux package : Ubuntu UBUNTU launchpad.net Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
oss-security - Re: CVE-2020-16120 - incorrect unprivileged overlayfs permission checking CONFIRM www.openwall.com Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

LEGACY: Giuseppe Scrivano

Legacy QID Mappings

  • 670375 EulerOS Security Update for kernel (EulerOS-SA-2021-1950)
  • 670396 EulerOS Security Update for kernel (EulerOS-SA-2021-1929)
  • 670936 EulerOS Security Update for kernel (EulerOS-SA-2021-1929)
  • 750376 OpenSUSE Security Update for RT kernel (openSUSE-SU-2021:0242-1)
  • 750533 OpenSUSE Security Update for the Linux Kernel (openSUSE-SU-2020:2112-1)
  • 750609 OpenSUSE Security Update for the Linux Kernel (openSUSE-SU-2020:1906-1)
  • 750738 SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for the Linux Kernel (SUSE-SU-2020:3326-1)
  • 900100 CBL-Mariner Linux Security Update for kernel 5.10.52.1
  • 900305 CBL-Mariner Linux Security Update for kernel 5.10.57.1
  • 900320 CBL-Mariner Linux Security Update for kernel 5.10.60.1
  • 901249 Common Base Linux Mariner (CBL-Mariner) Security Update for kernel (6522-1)
  • 903418 Common Base Linux Mariner (CBL-Mariner) Security Update for kernel (3885)
  • 905831 Common Base Linux Mariner (CBL-Mariner) Security Update for kernel (3885-1)
© CVE.report 2026 |

Use of this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. It is the responsibility of user to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content. EACH USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY consequences of his or her direct or indirect use of this web site. ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. This site will NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT or any other kind of loss.

CVE, CWE, and OVAL are registred trademarks of The MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. This site includes MITRE data granted under the following license.

CVE.report and Source URL Uptime Status status.cve.report