How severe is CVE-2021-3982?

CVE-2021-3982 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2021-3982 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (20th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2021-3982?

CVE-2021-3982 affects Gnome Gnome-shell. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2021-3982?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2021-3982 published?

CVE-2021-3982 was published on 2022-04-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2021-3982

CVE-2021-3982 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnome Gnome-shell with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-273.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
CVSS v2: 2.1
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (20th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-273
Affected product: Gnome Gnome-shell
Published: 2022-04-29
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Linux distributions using CAP_SYS_NICE for gnome-shell may be exposed to a privilege escalation issue. An attacker, with low privilege permissions, may take advantage of the way CAP_SYS_NICE is currently implemented and eventually load code to increase its process scheduler priority leading to possible DoS of other services running in the same machine.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-3982?: Linux distributions using CAP_SYS_NICE for gnome-shell may be exposed to a privilege escalation issue. An attacker, with low privilege permissions, may take advantage of the way CAP_SYS_NICE is currently implemented and eventually load code to increase its process scheduler priority leading to possible DoS of other services running in the same machine.
How severe is CVE-2021-3982?: CVE-2021-3982 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2021-3982 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (20th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-3982?: CVE-2021-3982 affects Gnome Gnome-shell. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-3982?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2021-3982 published?: CVE-2021-3982 was published on 2022-04-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:gnome:gnome-shell:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Other CWE-273 vulnerabilities

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CVE-2020-24361 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): SNMPTT before 1.4.2 allows attackers to execute shell code via EXEC, PREXEC, or unknown_trap_exec.
CVE-2011-3350 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): masqmail 0.2.21 through 0.2.30 improperly calls seteuid() in src/log.c and src/masqmail.c that results in improper…
CVE-2011-2921 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): ktsuss versions 1.4 and prior has the uid set to root and does not drop privileges prior to executing user specified…

Browse all CWE-273 vulnerabilities →