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Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

CVE-2020-27837

Medium
6.4/10

Summary

A flaw was found in GDM in versions prior to 3.38.2.1. A race condition in the handling of session shutdown makes it possible to bypass the lock screen for a user that has autologin enabled, accessing their session without authentication. This is similar to CVE-2017-12164, but requires more difficult conditions to exploit.

  • HIGH
  • PHYSICAL
  • HIGH
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • NONE
  • HIGH
  • HIGH

CWE-362 - Race Condition

A race condition occurs in a shared memory program when two threads/processes access the same shared memory data, and at least one thread executes a write operation. This vulnerability manipulates the time to check vs. time to use (TOC/TOU) gap between the threads in the critical section to cause disorientation in the shared data. The impact can vary from compromising the confidentiality of the system to causing the system to crash or to execute arbitrary code.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published