Improper access control in Red Hat RHEL shipped xdg-user-dirs and gnome-session
Priority LOW 34CWE-284Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-284.
Summary
It was found that system umask policy is not being honored when creating XDG user directories, since Xsession sources xdg-user-dirs.sh before setting umask policy. This only affects xdg-user-dirs before 0.15.5 as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.00321 25th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 5 fixed, 1 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | RHEL shipped xdg-user-dirs and gnome-session | before 0.15-5 | 0.15-5 | Patch available | CNA |
- RHEL shipped xdg-user-dirs and gnome-session VendorRed Hat Affected before 0.15-5 Fixed in 0.15-5 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 2
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:freedesktop:xdg-user-dirs:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 0.15.5 | Vulnerable | Freedesktop |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
- cpe:2.3:a:freedesktop:xdg-user-dirs:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 0.15.5 Vulnerable ·Freedesktop
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2018:0842 Released 2018-04-10 · Red Hat rating Lowxdg-user-dirs security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) xdg-user-dirs-0.15-5.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) xdg-user-dirs-0.15-5.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) xdg-user-dirs-0.15-5.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) xdg-user-dirs-0.15-5.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server (v. 7) xdg-user-dirs-0.15-5.el7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:0842 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:0842 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:0842 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:0842 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:0842 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2017-15131
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q4r5-4gjj-jww9
References
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Sources
- CVE-2017-15131 · CVE Program
- CVE-2017-15131 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q4r5-4gjj-jww9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2017-15131 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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