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NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

CVE-2020-17489: An issue was discovered in certain configurations of GNOME gnome-shell through 3.36.4.

MediumCVSS 4.3 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 17/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.55% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Physical access to the device is required. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: gnome-shell (AlmaLinux:8) 3.32.2-44.el8; gnome-shell (Alpine:v3.12) 3.36.5-r0; gnome-shell (Debian:12) 3.36.5-1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to gnome-shell (AlmaLinux:8) 3.32.2-44.el8; gnome-shell (Alpine:v3.12) 3.36.5-r0; gnome-shell (Debian:12) 3.36.5-1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

An issue was discovered in certain configurations of GNOME gnome-shell through 3.36.4. When logging out of an account, the password box from the login dialog reappears with the password still visible. If the user had decided to have the password shown in cleartext at login time, it is then visible for a brief moment upon a logout. (If the password were never shown in cleartext, only the password length is revealed.)

Published
Aug 11, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.5% · 46th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

17

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
17 / 40 · 4.3 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.5%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
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  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
gnomegnome-shell
canonicalubuntu linux
debiandebian linux
opensuseleap

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • canonical ubuntu linux20.04
  • debian debian linux9.0
  • gnome gnome-shellup to 3.36.4 inclusive
  • opensuse leap15.2

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
AlmaLinux:8gnome-shellbefore 3.32.2-44.el83.32.2-44.el8
Alpine:v3.12gnome-shellbefore 3.36.5-r03.36.5-r0
Debian:12gnome-shellbefore 3.36.5-13.36.5-1
Debian:9gnome-shellbefore 3.22.3-3+deb9u13.22.3-3+deb9u1
openSUSE:Leap 15.2gnome-settings-daemonbefore 3.34.2+0-lp152.3.3.13.34.2+0-lp152.3.3.1
openSUSE:Leap 15.2gnome-shellbefore 3.34.5-lp152.2.9.13.34.5-lp152.2.9.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedgnome-shellbefore 40.5-1.140.5-1.1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamgnome-shellbefore 0:3.32.2-44.el80:3.32.2-44.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamgnome-shell-debuginfobefore 0:3.32.2-44.el80:3.32.2-44.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamgnome-shell-debugsourcebefore 0:3.32.2-44.el80:3.32.2-44.el8
Rocky Linux:8gnome-shellbefore 0:3.32.2-44.el80:3.32.2-44.el8
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP2gnome-settings-daemonbefore 3.34.2+0-4.3.13.34.2+0-4.3.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP2gnome-shellbefore 3.34.5-3.13.13.34.5-3.13.1

Same product

gnome: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2017-8288gnome-shell 3.22 through 3.24.1 mishandles extensions that fail to reload, which can lead to leaving extensions enabled in the lock screen.
    33Monitor
  • 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…
    27Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2013-7221Apr 29, 2014 · The automatic screen lock functionality in GNOME Shell (aka gnome-shell) before 3.10 does not prevent access to the "Enter a Command"…
    18Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2019-3820Feb 6, 2019 · It was discovered that the gnome-shell lock screen since version 3.15.91 did not properly restrict all contextual actions.
    17Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2021-20315Feb 18, 2022 · A locking protection bypass flaw was found in some versions of gnome-shell as shipped within CentOS Stream 8, when the "Application menu"…
    24Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
almalinux:gnome-shell3.32.2-44.el8 · AlmaLinux:8Package registry (OSV)
alpine:gnome-shell3.36.5-r0 · Alpine:v3.12Package registry (OSV)
debian:gnome-shell3.36.5-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:gnome-settings-daemon3.34.2+0-lp152.3.3.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:gnome-shell3.34.5-lp152.2.9.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2Package registry (OSV)
red hat:gnome-shell0:3.32.2-44.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:gnome-shell-debuginfo0:3.32.2-44.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
red hat:gnome-shell-debugsource0:3.32.2-44.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstreamPackage registry (OSV)
rocky linux:gnome-shell0:3.32.2-44.el8 · Rocky Linux:8Package registry (OSV)
suse:gnome-settings-daemon3.34.2+0-4.3.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP2Package registry (OSV)
suse:gnome-shell3.34.5-3.13.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP2Package 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.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Physical access to the device is required.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
none
Attack vector
Physical
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-522 · Insufficiently Protected Credentials

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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.

References

Show all references (3 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records