CVE-2013-5135
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 · uneditedFormat string vulnerability in Screen Sharing Server in Apple Mac OS X before 10.9 and Apple Remote Desktop before 3.5.4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in a VNC username.
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 confidenceFormat string vulnerability in Apple Screen Sharing Server allows remote code execution via malicious format string specifiers (%s, %n, etc.) embedded in the VNC username field. The vulnerability affects Mac OS X versions before 10.9 and Apple Remote Desktop versions before 3.5.4, enabling attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code remotely without authentication.
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<= 3.5.3= 3.0.0= 3.1= 3.2= 3.2.1= 3.2.2= 3.3= 3.3.1= 3.3.2= 3.4= 3.5= 3.5.1<= 10.8.5= 10.8.0= 10.8.1= 10.8.2= 10.8.3= 10.8.4= 10.8.5CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/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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Confirm Screen Sharing Server is enabledOn Mac OS X, go to System Preferences > Sharing and check if 'Screen Sharing' is ticked. Alternatively, run the command: defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSharing launchdAffected if Screen Sharing is enabled and the system is running a vulnerable Mac OS X or Apple Remote Desktop version
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Check Mac OS X versionClick Apple menu > About This Mac to view the version number, or run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if Version is 10.8.5 or earlier (10.8.0 through 10.8.5)
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Check Apple Remote Desktop versionOpen Apple Remote Desktop application, or run: /usr/libexec/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Info.plist and look for CFBundleVersion, or check /Applications/Remote Desktop.app/Contents/Info.plistAffected if Version is 3.5.3 or earlier, or exactly 3.0.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.3, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 3.5.1, or 3.5.2
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Verify VNC listener is exposedCheck if port 5900 (VNC) is listening by running: lsof -i :5900 or netstat -an | grep 5900Affected if VNC service is listening on a network interface and the system is running a vulnerable version
A system is affected if Screen Sharing is enabled and it runs Mac OS X 10.8.5 or earlier, or Apple Remote Desktop 3.5.3 or earlier, with VNC accessible over the network.
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-supplied updates: upgrade Mac OS X to 10.9 or later, or Apple Remote Desktop to 3.5.4 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable Screen Sharing Server or implement network-level access controls to limit exposure.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-5135 — 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-2013-5135 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data