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.
Published: 2026-07-16
Score: 5.5 Medium
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8555-1 Ubuntu Advantage Tools (pro client) vulnerabilities
References
Link Providers
https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-9494 cve-icon
History

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
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.
Title ubuntu-pro-client Information Disclosure via Cleartext Bearer Token Exposure in Process Command Line
Weaknesses CWE-214
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N'}

Subscriptions

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: canonical

Published:

Updated: 2026-07-16T12:12:27.447Z

Reserved: 2026-05-25T08:23:24.573Z

Link: CVE-2026-9494

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses