Description
CRLF injection vulnerability in xterm allows user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary commands via LF (aka \n) characters surrounding a command name within a Device Control Request Status String (DECRQSS) escape sequence in a text file, a related issue to CVE-2003-0063 and CVE-2003-0071.
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 | xterm | 238-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | xterm | 238-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | xterm | 238-2 | — |
| Debian 5.0 | xterm | 235-2 | DTSA-182-1 |
| Debian 4.0 | xterm | 222-1etch3 | DSA-1694-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | xterm | 215-5.el5_2.2 | RHSA-2009:0018 |
| RHEL 4 | xterm | 192-8.el4_7.2 | RHSA-2009:0018 |
| RHEL 3 | xterm | 179-11.EL3 | RHSA-2009:0018 |
| RHEL 2 | hanterm-xf | 1:2.0.5-5.AS21.2 | RHSA-2009:0019 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | xterm | 368-2.2 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11527-1 |
Advisories 5
- RHSA-2009:0018 Red Hat Security Advisory: xterm security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- RHSA-2009:0019 Red Hat Security Advisory: hanterm-xf security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1694-1 xterm - remote code execution Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DTSA-182-1 xterm - remote code execution Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11527-1 xterm-368-2.2 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- 33419 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2009:0018 vendor-advisory
- 254208 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2009-0154 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2009:0019 vendor-advisory
- 33388 third-party-advisory
- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3549
- SUSE-SR:2009:003 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2009-0059 vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9317 vdb-entry signature
- 35074 third-party-advisory
- 33418 third-party-advisory
- DSA-1694 vendor-advisory
- APPLE-SA-2009-05-12 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2009:002 vendor-advisory
- 33318 third-party-advisory
- 33568 third-party-advisory
- xterm-decrqss-code-execution(47655) vdb-entry
- TA09-133A third-party-advisory
- 33397 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2009-1297 vdb-entry
- 33060 vdb-entry
- USN-703-1 vendor-advisory
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=510030
- 33820 third-party-advisory
- 1021522 vdb-entry
- FEDORA-2023-a004ecb3f8 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2023-3746647cc3 vendor-advisory