Description
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.
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 | xscreensaver | 4.15-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | xscreensaver | 4.15-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | xscreensaver | 4.15-1 | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 3 | xscreensaver | 1:4.10-20 | RHSA-2006:0498 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2006:0498 Red Hat Security Advisory: xscreensaver security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
References
- http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2006-107.htm
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/attachment.cgi?id=124968
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:10848 vdb-entry signature
- 20782 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2006:0498 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2006-1948 vdb-entry
- 20224 third-party-advisory
- 9125 vdb-entry
- 20456 third-party-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=182286
- http://www.novell.com/linux/download/updates/90_i386.html
- http://jwz.livejournal.com/310943.html
- 20226 third-party-advisory