Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical
CVE-2013-5745
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 · uneditedThe vino_server_client_data_pending function in vino-server.c in GNOME Vino 2.26.1, 2.32.1, 3.7.3, and earlier, and 3.8 when encryption is disabled, does not properly clear client data when an error causes the connection to close during authentication, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop, CPU and disk consumption) via multiple crafted requests during authentication.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in GNOME Vino VNC server's vino_server_client_data_pending function fails to properly clear client data when an error causes connection closure during authentication. When encryption is disabled, an attacker can send multiple crafted requests during authentication to trigger an infinite loop, causing CPU and disk consumption and resulting in denial of service.
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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 12.04= 12.10= 13.04<= 3.7.3= 0.12= 0.14= 2.7= 2.7.3= 2.7.3.1= 2.7.4= 2.7.4.90= 2.7.4.91= 2.7.90= 2.7.91= 2.7.92CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
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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Check if GNOME Vino is installedRun 'dpkg -l | grep vino' on Ubuntu/Debian, or 'rpm -qa | grep vino' on RHEL/Fedora, or check for vino-server process with 'ps aux | grep vino'Affected if The package is installed or vino-server process is running
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Determine installed Vino versionRun 'dpkg -l vino' or 'rpm -q vino' to get the exact version number, then compare to the affected version list (Ubuntu: 12.04, 12.10, 13.04; Vino: <=3.7.3, 0.12, 0.14, 2.7.x series)Affected if The installed version matches any version in the affected list
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Verify encryption status in Vino configurationCheck the GNOME gconf settings for Vino: look in ~/.gconf/desktop/gnome/remote_display/ or run 'gconftool-2 --get /desktop/gnome/remote_display/encryption'Affected if Encryption is explicitly disabled or set to 'none' (this is the condition required for the flaw to be exploitable)
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Check for any active VNC listeners using VinoRun 'netstat -tlnp | grep vnc' or 'ss -tlnp | grep vnc' to see if Vino is listening on VNC ports (typically 5900)Affected if Vino VNC server is actively listening and accepting connections
You are affected if GNOME Vino is installed with a vulnerable version AND encryption is disabled in its configuration, allowing unauthenticated attackers to trigger the infinite loop during the authentication phase.
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 dataEnable encryption in the Vino server configuration to prevent exploitation, or update to a patched version of GNOME Vino that addresses this vulnerability.
Fix this in Ubuntu Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-5745 — 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-2013-5745 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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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.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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