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XscreensaverApplication

CVE-2007-5585

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-10-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
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
xscreensaver 5.03 and earlier, when running without xscreensaver-gl-extras (GL extras) installed, crashes when /usr/bin/xscreensaver-gl-helper does not exist and a user attempts to unlock the screen, which allows attackers with physical access to gain access to the locked session.

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 · high confidence

xscreensaver 5.03 and earlier crashes when attempting to unlock the screen if the /usr/bin/xscreensaver-gl-helper binary does not exist and xscreensaver-gl-extras is not installed. This crash bypasses the lock screen, allowing an attacker with physical access to gain entry to the locked session.

MitigationInstall xscreensaver-gl-extras to provide the required helper binary, or upgrade xscreensaver to a version beyond 5.03 that handles this condition gracefully.

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
XscreensaverApplication
Affected:= 5.03

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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. Check xscreensaver version
    Run `xscreensaver -version` or check your package manager for the installed xscreensaver version (e.g., `dpkg -l xscreensaver` or `rpm -qi xscreensaver`)
    Affected if Version is 5.03 or earlier
  2. Verify helper binary presence
    Run `ls -la /usr/bin/xscreensaver-gl-helper` to check if the file exists
    Affected if The file does not exist (command returns 'No such file or directory')
  3. Check xscreensaver-gl-extras package
    Run `dpkg -l xscreensaver-gl-extras` or `rpm -qi xscreensaver-gl-extras` to see if the package is installed
    Affected if The package is not installed (command shows package not found)

You are affected if xscreensaver version is 5.03 or earlier AND the helper binary is missing AND xscreensaver-gl-extras is not installed, as this combination allows a crash that bypasses screen lock.

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

Install xscreensaver-gl-extras to provide the required helper binary, or upgrade xscreensaver to a version beyond 5.03 that handles this condition gracefully.

Fix this in Xscreensaver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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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-2007-5585 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
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