Description
VTE, as used by default in gnome-terminal terminal emulator 2.2 and as an option in gnome-terminal 2.0, allows attackers to modify the window title via a certain character escape sequence and then insert it back to the command line in the user's terminal, e.g. when the user views a file containing the malicious sequence, which could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | vte | 1:0.11.10-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | vte | 1:0.11.10-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | vte | 1:0.11.10-1 | — |
References
- 20030224 Terminal Emulator Security Issues mailing-list
- RHSA-2003:053 vendor-advisory
- terminal-emulator-window-title(11414) vdb-entry
- 20030224 Terminal Emulator Security Issues mailing-list
- GLSA-200303-2 vendor-advisory