Input validation error in gnome-shell - CVE-2017-8288
Published: April 27, 2017 / Updated: August 8, 2020
Vulnerability identifier: #VU39101
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4.0: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber
CVE-ID: CVE-2017-8288
CWE-ID: CWE-20
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vendor: Gnome Development Team
Affected software:
gnome-shell
gnome-shell
Detailed vulnerability description
The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.
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.
How to mitigate CVE-2017-8288
Install update from vendor's website.