Ubuntu
gtk+3.0 package

Long-loading apps steal focus after user changes app before loading finishes.

Bug #387599 reported by Briggs
20
This bug affects 3 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
One Hundred Papercuts
Opinion
Low
Unassigned
gtk+3.0 (Ubuntu)
Confirmed
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

Take for instance launching an application (GUI) that takes a long (it's arbitrary, I know) time to load (think of IntelliJ or Eclipse). Start that process, then open a terminal. Start working in that terminal. When the long loading application finally appears it will gain focus. If that application pops up any dialogs, they will grab focus. This is incredibly annoying and a security flaw (IMHO), since it can grab text from another application (such as a password) and have it displayed on the screen. It can cause a user to input information that they did not intend to, well, input.

Plus, this is just annoying. I know it exists in KDE and in GNOME. It's an X thing I believe. But, it just isn't the behavior anyone expects.

See original description
Briggs (acidbriggs)
description: updated
Revision history for this message
Briggs (acidbriggs) wrote :

Not sure if I should have set it as a security vulnerability or not.

Revision history for this message
Chris Wilson (notgary-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

I don't think this is X. Focus policy is handled further up the stack, probably by Gtk.

security vulnerability: yes → no
visibility: private → public
summary: - X allowing background applications to grab window focus.
+ Long-loading apps steal focus after user changes app before loading
+ finsihes.
summary: Long-loading apps steal focus after user changes app before loading
- finsihes.
+ finishes.
no longer affects: xorg-server (Ubuntu)
Changed in hundredpapercuts:
status: New → Confirmed
importance: Undecided → Low
Revision history for this message
Chris Wilson (notgary-deactivatedaccount) wrote :

A solution to this would be to have the focus of loading-in-progress apps be overridden if the user changes focus themselves. It should only get focus if the current focus hasn't changed since it started opening.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

Changed in gtk+3.0 (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Chad Miller (cmiller) wrote :

Not an easy bug. Fails 100PC standard.

Also, should probably be assigned to window managers, not a toolkit.

Changed in hundredpapercuts:
status: Confirmed → Opinion
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