# CVE-2026-19816: packagekit: A flaw was found in PackageKit

CVE-2026-19816 is fixed in packagekit on 1 platform by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-19816 (version 1.4.0-1), released September 17, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-19816
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.1 (high)
- EPSS: 0.0014
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Sep 14, 2026

## Description

A flaw was found in PackageKit. PackageKit skips the polkit authorization check for transactions carrying the SIMULATE (dry-run) flag. In the dnf5 backend, the RepoRemove handler ignores that contract and always executes the real transaction because its guard is written as (role == REPO_REMOVE || !SIMULATE), which is always true for RepoRemove. An unprivileged local user can therefore perform a genuine package uninstall while claiming to simulate. This vulnerability only affects systems using PackageKit with the dnf5 backend.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | packagekit Debian 14 | 1.4.0-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-19816](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-19816.md) | Sep 17, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-09T01:18:40Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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