GNOME Project releases 50.4 update with GDM security fixes

The GNOME Project has issued the GNOME 50.4 maintenance update, addressing several security vulnerabilities across the desktop suite. Key fixes include a path‑traversal flaw and an autologin bypass in the GNOME Display Manager (GDM) that could allow a compromised greeter to load arbitrary session files or log in any local user, as well as a denial‑of‑service issue that could terminate the GDM daemon. Password handling has been hardened by wiping cached plaintext passphrases from memory and adding bounds checks.

The update also incorporates GLib 2.88.3, which resolves CVE‑2026‑15588, a pre‑authentication denial‑of‑service vulnerability in GDBusServer. Additional desktop improvements cover GNOME Shell visual glitches, cursor scaling on HiDPI displays, HDR metadata handling, and Mutter’s monitor rendering and fallback mode handling. The new version will be distributed through standard package repositories in the coming days.