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X ServerApplication · X.org

CVE-2017-10971

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-07-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.19.3 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
In the X.Org X server before 2017-06-19, a user authenticated to an X Session could crash or execute code in the context of the X Server by exploiting a stack overflow in the endianness conversion of X Events.

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

A stack buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the X.Org X server's endianness conversion logic for X Events. An authenticated user connected to an X session can trigger the overflow by sending specially crafted events with specific endianness, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service via server crash.

MitigationApply the X.Org security patch released on 2017-06-19 or update to a fixed version of the X server. Restrict X session access to trusted users only as an interim measure.

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
X ServerApplication
Affected:<= 1.19.3

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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 installed X server version
    Run 'xdpyinfo -version' or 'Xorg -version' to retrieve the installed X server version number
    Affected if Version is 1.19.3 or lower (any version <= 1.19.3)
  2. Confirm X server is running
    Check for running X server process: 'ps aux | grep Xorg' or 'ps aux | grep XFree86'
    Affected if X server is running and accessible to untrusted users
  3. Verify X authentication configuration
    Review X server access control: run 'xhost' to list allowed hosts and 'xauth list' to check authentication entries
    Affected if X server permits connections from untrusted users or uses insecure authentication (e.g., xhost + or missing MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE)
  4. Check for network-exposed X server
    Run 'netstat -tlnp | grep 6000' or 'ss -tlnp | grep 6000' to see if X server listens on TCP port 6000
    Affected if X server is listening on TCP (network) which allows remote authenticated attackers to trigger the flaw

You are affected if your X.org X Server version is 1.19.3 or lower AND untrusted or network-accessible users can connect to the X session.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.19.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the X.Org security patch released on 2017-06-19 or update to a fixed version of the X server. Restrict X session access to trusted users only as an interim measure.

Fix this in X Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-10971 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