CVE-2018-20781
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session...
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
- Record
CVE-2018-20781- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 2.1 Low
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-522
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
- Record
CVE-2018-20781- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-13324 No score
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
- Record
EUVD-2018-13324- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-rqh7-8g2w-wcqc
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session...
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
- Record
GHSA-rqh7-8g2w-wcqc- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-522
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
- Record
CVE-2018-20781- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2018-20781
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2018-20781- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2018-20781
In pam/gkr-pam-module.c in GNOME Keyring before 3.27.2, the user's password is kept in a session-child process spawned from the LightDM daemon. This can expose the credential in cleartext.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2018-20781- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2019-0111 No score
Updated gnome-keyring packages fix security vulnerability
It was discovered that GNOME Keyring incorrectly cleared out credentials supplied to the PAM module. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to discover login credentials (CVE-2018-20781).
- Record
MGASA-2019-0111- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3894-1 No score
gnome-keyring vulnerability
It was discovered that GNOME Keyring incorrectly cleared out credentials supplied to the PAM module. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to discover login credentials.
- Record
USN-3894-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
gnome-keyringDebian:12 |
before 3.28.0-1 | 3.28.0-1 |
gnome-keyringDebian:13 |
before 3.28.0-1 | 3.28.0-1 |
gnome-keyringDebian:14 |
before 3.28.0-1 | 3.28.0-1 |
gnome-keyringMageia:6 |
before 3.20.0-1.1.mga6 | 3.20.0-1.1.mga6 |
gnome-keyringUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
before 3.10.1-1ubuntu4.4, plus listed versions 3.8.2-0ubuntu33.10.1-1ubuntu33.10.1-1ubuntu43.10.1-1ubuntu4.13.10.1-1ubuntu4.23.10.1-1ubuntu4.3 |
3.10.1-1ubuntu4.4 |
gnome-keyringUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
before 3.18.3-0ubuntu2.1, plus listed versions 3.16.0-4ubuntu23.18.3-0ubuntu2 |
3.18.3-0ubuntu2.1 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit | MimiPenguin | 2018-05-23 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, Metasploit, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2018-20781 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Gnome Keyring, published February 12, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.54%, the 75th percentile. Fixed in gnome-keyring 3.28.0-1.
References
usn.ubuntu.com/3894-1
oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2021.html
gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-keyring/tags/3.27.2
bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-keyring/+bug/1772919
bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=781486
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github.com/huntergregal/mimipenguin/tree/d95f1e08ce79783794f38433bbf7de5abd9792da
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20781
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2018-20781
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2019-0111.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=24480
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-20781
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-20781