An issue was discovered in certain configurations of GNOME gnome-shell through 3.36.4.
Priority LOW 21CWE-522Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Physical
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-522.
Summary
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.)
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.00553 46th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Fixed Red Hat: 1 advisory
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:gnome:gnome-shell:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 3.36.4 | Vulnerable | GNOME |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 20.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 15.2 | Vulnerable | openSUSE |
- cpe:2.3:a:gnome:gnome-shell:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 3.36.4 Vulnerable ·GNOME
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 20.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 15.2 Vulnerable ·openSUSE
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2022:1814 Released 2022-05-10 · Red Hat rating Lowgnome-shell security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) gnome-shell-3.32.2-44.el8
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:1814 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-17489
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vfpj-rcwj-86vm
References
Sources
- CVE-2020-17489 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-17489 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vfpj-rcwj-86vm · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-17489 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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