CVE-2013-1985
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 · uneditedInteger overflow in X.org libXinerama 1.1.2 and earlier allows X servers to trigger allocation of insufficient memory and a buffer overflow via vectors related to the XineramaQueryScreens function.
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 confidenceInteger overflow in libXinerama's XineramaQueryScreens function allows malicious X servers to cause insufficient memory allocation by providing crafted screen count values, leading to buffer overflow when data is written to undersized buffers.
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<= 1.1.2= 1.0.2= 1.0.3= 1.0.99.1= 1.1= 1.1.1CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed libXinerama versionQuery the library version using your system's package manager (dpkg -l libxinerama1, rpm -q libXinerama, or check /usr/lib/libXinerama* directly) or examine the shared library file metadataAffected if The installed version matches one of: 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.99.1, 1.1, 1.1.1, or any version 1.1.2 or earlier
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Verify Xinerama extension is enabledCheck if the Xinerama extension is loaded by examining X server output (xdpyinfo -ext Xinerama) or reviewing /var/log/Xorg.0.log for Xinerama initialization messagesAffected if Xinerama is active and the library from step 1 is vulnerable
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Confirm application links to libXineramaIdentify processes that link to libXinerama using ldd on X clients or checking /proc/<pid>/maps for processes that may query screen configurationsAffected if Any application using Xinerama queries is running against a vulnerable library version
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Assess X server trust modelReview X server configuration (xorg.conf, X11/ directory) and check for xhost settings or display manager access controls that allow untrusted clients to connectAffected if Untrusted or network-accessible X clients can connect and trigger XineramaQueryScreens calls
You are affected if libXinerama version 1.1.2 or earlier is installed AND Xinerama is enabled AND untrusted X clients can connect to trigger the vulnerable code path.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply vendor patches for libXinerama 1.1.2 or earlier; ensure X server configurations restrict untrusted client screen query capabilities.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1985 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-1985 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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