What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-17489?

CVE-2020-17489 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.3 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.6%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2020-17489?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2020-17489. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 0.6%.

Gnome CVE-2020-17489

MEDIUM

Insufficiently Protected Credentials (CWE-522)

2020-08-11 cve@mitre.org

Information Disclosure Debian Canonical Debian Linux Leap Ubuntu Linux Opensuse Gnome Gnome Shell

4.3

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-522 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V6 - Authentication Credential protection in transit/storage
Impact	CVSS score of 4.3 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: physical attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain user credentials due to weak protection mechanisms. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

No patch listed yet 0.6% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

An issue was discovered in certain configurations of GNOME gnome-shell through 3.36.4. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Hash passwords with strong algorithms (bcrypt, argon2), encrypt credentials in transit and at rest, never log credentials.

Affects your stack

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Insufficiently Protected Credentials (CWE-522), which allows attackers to obtain user credentials due to weak protection mechanisms. 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.) Affected products include: Gnome Gnome-Shell, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Opensuse Leap. Version information: through 3.36.4..

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 4.3 MEDIUM

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

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Physical

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

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.)

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.6%

Top 58% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 0.6%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Small

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +1

CVSS: +22

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.