dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2024-0409

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A flaw was found in the X.Org server. The cursor code in both Xephyr and Xwayland uses the wrong type of private at creation. It uses the cursor bits type with the cursor as private, and when initiating the cursor, that overwrites the XSELINUX context.

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 · moderate confidence

A type confusion vulnerability exists in the X.Org server's cursor initialization code for Xephyr and Xwayland. The code incorrectly uses cursor bits type with cursor as private, causing an XSELINUX security context overwrite when the cursor is initiated. This could potentially allow security context manipulation or privilege escalation.

MitigationUpdate X.Org server to the patched version that corrects the cursor private type usage. For systems using Xephyr or Xwayland with SELinux enforced, verify the XSELINUX context is not being corrupted and monitor for anomalous behavior.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 39
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux For Ibm Z SystemsOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux For Power Big EndianOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux For Power Little EndianOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux For Scientific ComputingOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 7.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 if Xephyr or Xwayland is in use
    Run 'ps aux | grep -E "(Xephyr|Xwayland)"' or check running display server processes
    Affected if Either Xephyr or Xwayland processes are running on the system
  2. Check if SELinux is enabled and enforcing
    Run 'getenforce' to check SELinux status and 'sestatus' for detailed configuration
    Affected if SELinux is enabled and in Enforcing mode (the vulnerability corrupts XSELINUX security contexts)
  3. Verify X.Org server version
    Run 'Xorg -version' or check the installed xorg-x11-server package version with 'rpm -q xorg-x11-server' (RHEL) or 'dnf list installed xorg-x11-server' (Fedora)
    Affected if The installed version falls within the affected ranges (Fedora 39, RHEL 6.0-9.0) and is older than the patched version
  4. Check for X.Org server cursor-related modules
    Inspect loaded X server modules by running 'xdpyinfo' or checking /var/log/Xorg.0.log for cursor and related module loading
    Affected if Xephyr or Xwayland is in use with cursor initialization enabled and SELinux enforcing
  5. Monitor XSELINUX context for anomalies
    Use 'ps -efZ | grep -E "(Xephyr|Xwayland)"' to check the security context of Xephyr/Xwayland processes, looking for unexpected context changes
    Affected if The SELinux context of Xephyr/Xwayland processes shows unexpected or corrupted labels after cursor operations

A system is affected if it runs Xephyr or Xwayland with SELinux enforcing and has an unpatched X.Org server version within the affected Fedora/RHEL ranges.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update X.Org server to the patched version that corrects the cursor private type usage. For systems using Xephyr or Xwayland with SELinux enforced, verify the XSELINUX context is not being corrupted and monitor for anomalous behavior.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Run 'dnf check-update' or 'yum check-update' to check for available security updates
  2. Apply the X.Org Server security update using 'dnf update xorg-x11-server*' or 'yum update xorg-x11-server*'
  3. Reboot the system if required to ensure the updated X server components are loaded
  4. Verify the update was applied successfully by checking the installed xorg-x11-server package version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
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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-2024-0409 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