Improper Initialization in GNOME Display Manager

1) Improper Initialization

EUVDB-ID: #VU36816

Risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 5.6 [CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2017-12164

CWE-ID: CWE-665 - Improper Initialization

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local non-authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.

A flaw was discovered in gdm 3.24.1 where gdm greeter was no longer setting the ran_once boolean during autologin. If autologin was enabled for a victim, an attacker could simply select 'login as another user' to unlock their screen.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

GNOME Display Manager: 3.24.1

External links

http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2017-12164
http://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gdm/commit/ff98b28

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. The attacker should have physical access to the system in order to successfully exploit this vulnerability.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.