Xscreensaver before 4.15 creates temporary files insecurely in (1) driver/passwd-kerberos.c, (2) driver/xscreensaver-getimage-video, (3) dri
Xscreensaver before 4.15 creates temporary files insecurely in (1) driver/passwd-kerberos.c, (2) driver/xscreensaver-getimage-video, (3) driver/xscreensaver.kss.in, and the (4) vidwhacker and (5) webcollage screensavers, which allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack.
- Published
- Dec 31, 2003
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.4% · 34th percentile
- CWE
- —
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Report tools
Action score
8
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 8 / 40 · 2.1 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.4%
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| xscreensaver | xscreensaver | cpe:2.3:a:xscreensaver:xscreensaver |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.05_150
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.05_5cl
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.05_6
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.05_6a
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.07_2
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.08_29135cl
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.09_0
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.10_15
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.10_4
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.10_6
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.10_8
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.11_0
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.12_58
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.12_62
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.14_0
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.14_2
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.14_4
- xscreensaver xscreensaver4.14_5
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | xscreensaver | before 4.15-1 | 4.15-1 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | xscreensaver | before 1:4.10-20 | 1:4.10-20 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | xscreensaver-debuginfo | before 1:4.10-20 | 1:4.10-20 |
Same product
xscreensaver: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2003-0885Xscreensaver 4.14 contains certain debugging code that should have been omitted, which causes Xscreensaver to create temporary files insecur25Monitor
- CVE-2004-2655rdesktop 1.3.1 with xscreensaver 4.14, and possibly other versions, when running on Fedora and possibly other platforms, does not release th22Monitor
- CVE-2007-5585xscreensaver 5.03 and earlier, when running without xscreensaver-gl-extras (GL extras) installed, crashes when /usr/bin/xscreensaver-gl-help21Monitor
- CVE-2007-1859XScreenSaver 4.10, when using a remote directory service for credentials, does not properly handle the results from the getpwuid function in18Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:xscreensaver | 4.15-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:xscreensaver | 1:4.10-20 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:xscreensaver-debuginfo | 1:4.10-20 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- P · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- P
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
—
CVSS vector
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- ftp://patches.sgi.com/support/free/security/advisories/20060602-01-U.asc
- jwz.livejournal.com/310943.html
- secunia.com/advisories/20224
- secunia.com/advisories/20226
- secunia.com/advisories/20456
- secunia.com/advisories/20782
- support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2006-107.htm
- www.novell.com/linux/download/updates/90_i386.html
- www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2006-0498.html
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/9125
- www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2006/1948
- bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/attachment.cgi?id=124968
- bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=182286
- oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10848
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.