MediumCVE-2026-9494

    ubuntu-pro-client Information Disclosure via Cleartext Bearer Token Exposure in Process Command Line (CVE-2026-9494)

    Published Sources: Ubuntu, BSI, CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (formerly ubuntu-advantage-tools). The client validates Ubuntu Pro APT credentials by executing /usr/lib/apt/apt-helper using the download-file command.

    Update Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (ubuntu-advantage-tools) to version 37.3, Canonical Ubuntu 26.04 LTS to version 37.2ubuntu0.1, Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to version 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1.

    Affected
    • Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (ubuntu-advantage-tools) lt *..37.3
    • Canonical Ubuntu 26.04 LTS lt *..37.2ubuntu0.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 LTS lt *..37.2ubuntu~24.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 22.04 LTS lt *..37.2ubuntu~22.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 20.04 LTS lt *..37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 18.04 LTS lt *..37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS lt *..37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 14.04 LTS lt *..19.7ubuntu0.1
    Fixed in
    • Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (ubuntu-advantage-tools) 37.3
    • Canonical Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 37.2ubuntu0.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 37.2ubuntu~22.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 18.04 LTS 37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1
    • Canonical Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 19.7ubuntu0.1

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    Metrics

    5.5

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    5.5

    CVSS v3

    Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Ubuntu, BSI, CVE.org

    0.2 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 3.8

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Medium
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    48.28 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    5.5 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    5.5
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.2 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    3.8
    Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: none known · not automatable · Technical impact: partial
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 16 July 2026
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-214

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (formerly ubuntu-advantage-tools). The client validates Ubuntu Pro APT credentials by executing /usr/lib/apt/apt-helper using the download-file command. During this process, the secret bearer token is embedded directly in the cleartext URL component passed via the command-line arguments (argv), resulting in a URL format such as https://bearer:<token>@esm.ubuntu.com/.../. On systems utilizing a default-mounted /proc file system where process-hiding mitigations (such as hidepid) are disabled, an unprivileged local attacker can monitor system processes and read the sensitive bearer token directly from /proc/cmdline while the helper process is actively running. This leaked token can subsequently be used to gain unauthorized access to the victim's Ubuntu Pro or Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) repositories.

    Source: Ubuntu Security Notices, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, NVD (NIST), CVE.org (MITRE), cvelistv5

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    CanonicalUbuntu 14.04 LTS
    • < 19.7ubuntu0.1
    • 19.7ubuntu0.1
    CanonicalUbuntu 16.04 LTS
    • < 37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1
    • 37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1
    CanonicalUbuntu 18.04 LTS
    • < 37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1
    • 37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1
    CanonicalUbuntu 20.04 LTS
    • < 37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1
    • 37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1
    CanonicalUbuntu 22.04 LTS
    • < 37.2ubuntu~22.04.1
    • 37.2ubuntu~22.04.1
    CanonicalUbuntu 24.04 LTS
    • < 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1
    • 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1
    CanonicalUbuntu 26.04 LTS
    • < 37.2ubuntu0.1
    • 37.2ubuntu0.1
    Canonicalubuntu-pro-client (ubuntu-advantage-tools)
    • < 37.3
    • 37.3
    UbuntuLinux ubuntu-pro-client
    • < 37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1
    • < 37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1
    • < 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1
    • < 37.2ubuntu0.1
    • < 37.2ubuntu~22.04.1
    • < 19.7ubuntu0.1
    • < 37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1
    • 37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1
    • 37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1
    • 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1
    • 37.2ubuntu0.1
    • 37.2ubuntu~22.04.1
    • 19.7ubuntu0.1
    • 37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxubuntuubuntu-advantage-toolstrusty

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-214Invocation of Process Using Visible Sensitive Information

      Base

      A process is invoked with sensitive command-line arguments, environment variables, or other elements that can be seen by other processes on the operating system.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-214

    References & sources

    • ubuntu.comsecurity/CVE-2026-9494Vulnerability database
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