CVE-2024-53920
Publication date 27 November 2024
Last updated 9 February 2026
Ubuntu priority
Cvss 3 Severity Score
Description
In elisp-mode.el in GNU Emacs before 30.1, a user who chooses to invoke elisp-completion-at-point (for code completion) on untrusted Emacs Lisp source code can trigger unsafe Lisp macro expansion that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. (This unsafe expansion also occurs if a user chooses to enable on-the-fly diagnosis that byte compiles untrusted Emacs Lisp source code.)
Status
| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
|---|---|---|
| xemacs21 | 25.10 questing |
Needs evaluation
|
| 24.04 LTS noble |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 22.04 LTS jammy |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 20.04 LTS focal |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 18.04 LTS bionic |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 16.04 LTS xenial |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| xemacs21-packages | 25.10 questing |
Needs evaluation
|
| 24.04 LTS noble |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 22.04 LTS jammy |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 20.04 LTS focal |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 18.04 LTS bionic |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 16.04 LTS xenial |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| emacs24 | 25.10 questing | Not in release |
| 24.04 LTS noble | Not in release | |
| 22.04 LTS jammy | Not in release | |
| 20.04 LTS focal | Not in release | |
| 16.04 LTS xenial |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| emacs25 | 25.10 questing | Not in release |
| 24.04 LTS noble | Not in release | |
| 22.04 LTS jammy | Not in release | |
| 20.04 LTS focal | Not in release | |
| 18.04 LTS bionic |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| emacs | 25.10 questing |
Not affected
|
| 24.04 LTS noble |
Fixed 1:29.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm3
|
|
| 22.04 LTS jammy |
Fixed 1:27.1+1-3ubuntu5.2+esm1
|
|
| 20.04 LTS focal |
Fixed 1:26.3+1-1ubuntu2+esm2
|
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Get Ubuntu Pro 30-day free trialSeverity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score |
|
| Attack vector | Local |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges required | None |
| User interaction | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High |
| Integrity impact | High |
| Availability impact | High |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
References
Related Ubuntu Security Notices (USN)
- USN-8011-1
- Emacs vulnerabilities
- 4 February 2026
Other references
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-53920
- https://eshelyaron.com/posts/2024-11-27-emacs-aritrary-code-execution-and-how-to-avoid-it.html
- https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tag/?h=emacs-30.0.92
- https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/tree/ChangeLog.4
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42256409
- https://yhetil.org/emacs/CAFXAjY5f4YfHAtZur1RAqH34UbYU56_t6t2Er0YEh1Sb7-W=hg%40mail.gmail.com/