Is CVE-2021-20315 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2021-20315 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2021-20315 be exploited remotely?

No. CVE-2021-20315 requires physical access to exploit.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-20315?

CVE-2021-20315 has a CVSS score of 6.1 (MEDIUM).

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MEDIUM

CVE-2021-20315

CWE-667Published: February 18, 2022· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

6.1

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

A locking protection bypass flaw was found in some versions of gnome-shell as shipped within CentOS Stream 8, when the "Application menu" or "Window list" GNOME extensions are enabled. This flaw allows a physical attacker who has access to a locked system to kill existing applications and start new ones as the locked user, even if the session is still locked.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2021-20315 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 6.1.