Vigil@nce: Solaris, insufficient locking of XScreenSaver/Xorg
August 2009 by Vigil@nce
Popup windows are displayed when XScreenSaver is enabled, on a
Xorg server.
Severity: 1/4
Consequences: data reading
Provenance: user console
Means of attack: no proof of concept, no attack
Ability of attacker: expert (4/4)
Confidence: confirmed by the editor (5/5)
Diffusion of the vulnerable configuration: high (3/3)
Creation date: 06/08/2009
IMPACTED PRODUCTS
– OpenSolaris
– Sun Solaris
– Sun Trusted Solaris
DESCRIPTION OF THE VULNERABILITY
The XScreenSaver program is used to lock the screen, and hides the
content of user’s session.
However, on a Xorg(Xnewt) server, new popup windows are displayed
on top of the screen saver. An attacker can therefore read their
content.
A local attacker can thus obtain sensitive information displayed
in these popup.
This vulnerability is different from VIGILANCE-VUL-8611
(https://vigilance.fr/tree/1/8611).
CHARACTERISTICS
Identifiers: 258928, 6825374, BID-35964, VIGILANCE-VUL-8920
http://vigilance.fr/vulnerability/Solaris-insufficient-locking-of-XScreenSaver-Xorg-8920