gnome-shell 3.22 through 3.24.1 mishandles extensions that fail to reload, which can lead to leaving extensions enabled in the lock screen.
gnome-shell 3.22 through 3.24.1 mishandles extensions that fail to reload, which can lead to leaving extensions enabled in the lock screen. With these extensions, a bystander could launch applications (but not interact with them), see information from the extensions (e.g., what applications you have opened or what music you were playing), or even execute arbitrary commands. It all depends on what extensions a user has enabled. The problem is caused by lack of exception handling in js/ui/extensionSystem.js.
- Published
- Apr 26, 2017
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 3.0% · 87th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-20
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Report tools
Action score
33
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 32 / 40 · 8.1 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 1 / 30 · 3.0%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| gnome | gnome-shell | cpe:2.3:a:gnome:gnome-shell |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- gnome gnome-shell3.22.0
- gnome gnome-shell3.22.1
- gnome gnome-shell3.22.2
- gnome gnome-shell3.22.3
- gnome gnome-shell3.23.1
- gnome gnome-shell3.23.2
- gnome gnome-shell3.23.3
- gnome gnome-shell3.23.90
- gnome gnome-shell3.23.91
- gnome gnome-shell3.23.92
- gnome gnome-shell3.24.0
- gnome gnome-shell3.24.1
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | gnome-shell | before 3.22.3-3 | 3.22.3-3 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | gnome-shell | before 40.5-1.1 | 40.5-1.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | gnome-shell | before 3.20.4-77.7.5 | 3.20.4-77.7.5 |
Same product
gnome: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2014-7300GNOME Shell 3.14.x before 3.14.1, when the Screen Lock feature is used, does not limit the aggregate memory consumption of all active PrtSc 28Monitor
- CVE-2012-4427The gnome-shell plugin 3.4.1 in GNOME allows remote attackers to force the download and installation of arbitrary extensions from extensions27Monitor
- CVE-2010-4000gnome-shell in GNOME Shell 2.31.5 places a zero-length directory name in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH, which allows local users to gain privileges vi27Monitor
- CVE-2021-20315A locking protection bypass flaw was found in some versions of gnome-shell as shipped within CentOS Stream 8, when the "Application menu" or24Monitor
- CVE-2023-43090Gnome-shell: screenshot tool allows viewing open windows when session is locked22Monitor
- CVE-2021-3982Linux distributions using CAP_SYS_NICE for gnome-shell may be exposed to a privilege escalation issue.22Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:gnome-shell | 3.22.3-3 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:gnome-shell | 40.5-1.1 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:gnome-shell | 3.20.4-77.7.5 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- High
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-20 · Improper Input ValidationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Buffer Overflow via Environment VariablesCAPEC-10likelihood: High · High
- Server Side Include (SSI) InjectionCAPEC-101likelihood: High · High
- Cross Zone ScriptingCAPEC-104likelihood: Medium · High
- Command Line Execution through SQL InjectionCAPEC-108likelihood: Low · Very High
- Object Relational Mapping InjectionCAPEC-109likelihood: Low · High
- SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter TamperingCAPEC-110likelihood: High · Very High
- Double EncodingCAPEC-120likelihood: Low · Medium
- Subverting Environment Variable ValuesCAPEC-13likelihood: High · Very High
ATT&CK techniques
- Obfuscated Files or InformationT1027
- Masquerading: Invalid Code SignatureT1036.001
- Steal Web Session CookieT1539
- Subvert Trust Controls: Code SigningT1553.002
- Impair Defenses:Impair Command History LoggingT1562.003
- Hijack Execution Flow:Dynamic Linker HijackingT1574.006
- Hijack Execution Flow:Path Interception by PATH Environment VariableT1574.007
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/98070
- bugs.kali.org/view.php?id=2513
- bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=781728
- github.com/EasyScreenCast/EasyScreenCast/issues/46
- github.com/GNOME/gnome-shell/commit/ff425d1db7082e2755d2a405af53861552acf2a1
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.