XScreenSaver allows local users to bypass authentication under certain configurations.

Announced

2007-05-13

Revised

2007-05-13

Access

local

Bugs

#176584

Advisory

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/200705-14

Affected packages

Package	Arch	Vulnerable	Unaffected
x11-misc/xscreensaver	*	< 5.02	>= 5.02

Background

XScreenSaver is a widely used screen saver collection shipped on systems running the X11 Window System.

Description

XScreenSaver incorrectly handles the results of the getpwuid() function in drivers/lock.c when using directory servers during a network outage.

Impact

A local user can crash XScreenSaver by preventing network connectivity if the system uses a remote directory service for credentials such as NIS or LDAP, which will unlock the screen.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All XScreenSaver users should upgrade to the latest version:

# emerge --sync
# emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-misc/xscreensaver-5.02"

References

• CVE-2007-1859