# CVE-2000-0491: Memory corruption in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands or cause denial of service via a buffer overflow in XDMCP parsing of GNOME, KDE, and wdm display managers.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Jul 2000
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-26q8-4547-5jf2

## What is CVE-2000-0491?

CVE-2000-0491 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Suse Suse Linux, published on 12 Jul 2000. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Buffer overflow in the XDMCP parsing code of GNOME gdm, KDE kdm, and wdm allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands or cause a denial of service via a long FORWARD_QUERY request.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2000-0491?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Caldera Openlinux, Gnome Gdm, Suse Suse Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2000-0491?

No fix has been published for CVE-2000-0491 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2000-0491 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2000-0491 exists.

Public exploit code:

- gdm 1.0.x/2.0.x BETA/2.2.0 - XDMCP Buffer Overflow (1) (exploitdb)
- gdm 1.0.x/2.0.x BETA/2.2.0 - XDMCP Buffer Overflow (2) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Suse Suse Linux

- [CVE-2001-0850](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2001-0850/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0844](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0844/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0917](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0917/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0374](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0374/): Misconfiguration in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2000-0370](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0370/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2000-0491 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2000-0491 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Suse Suse Linux, published on 12 Jul 2000. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2000-0491 exists.

Affected product: Suse Suse Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0491/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0491/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2000-0491
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2000-0491
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2000-0491

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0491/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.