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Xfree86Application · Xfree86 Project

CVE-2005-2495

MEDIUM · 5.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-09-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple integer overflows in XFree86 before 4.3.0 allow user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted pixmap image.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Integer overflow vulnerabilities in XFree86's pixmap image handling allow arbitrary code execution via crafted images. The overflows occur when processing pixmap dimensions or data, enabling attackers to corrupt memory through user-assisted attacks (e.g., loading a malicious image).

MitigationUpgrade to XFree86 4.3.0 or later, or migrate to X.org (the XFree86 successor), as XFree86 is obsolete and no longer maintained.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Xfree86Application
Affected:= 3.3.6= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.1.0= 4.2.0= 4.2.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify XFree86 installation and version
    Run 'XFree86 -version' or check package manager output (rpm -q XFree86, dpkg -l | grep XFree86, or yum list installed | grep XFree86)
    Affected if XFree86 is installed and version matches 3.3.6, 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.1.0, 4.2.0, or 4.2.1
  2. Confirm XFree86 is the active X server
    Run 'xdpyinfo' or check the X server process (ps aux | grep X) to determine if XFree86 is running versus X.org
    Affected if XFree86 is the running X server (not X.org or another X server) and version is in the affected list
  3. Verify X server is running
    Check for active X server process: 'ps aux | grep -E "XFree86|Xorg"' or check /var/log/XFree86.0.log for recent startup
    Affected if An XFree86 X server process is active and version is in the affected range

A user is affected if XFree86 version 3.3.6 through 4.2.1 is installed AND running as the active X server, as the integer overflow in pixmap handling is exploitable through client applications rendering crafted images.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to XFree86 4.3.0 or later, or migrate to X.org (the XFree86 successor), as XFree86 is obsolete and no longer maintained.

Fix this in Xfree86 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-2495 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data