CVE-2003-0885 Path traversal in n/a

Medium 6.4 Published 28 Feb 2006 Updated 8 Aug 2024

Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks due to insecure temporary file creation in specific Xscreensaver modules.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2003-0885?

CVE-2003-0885 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 28 Feb 2006. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Xscreensaver 4.14 contains certain debugging code that should have been omitted, which causes Xscreensaver to create temporary files insecurely in the (1) apple2, (2) xanalogtv, and (3) pong screensavers, and allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-0885?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Xscreensaver Xscreensaver.

How do I fix CVE-2003-0885?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2003-0885 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-0885 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2003-0885, GHSA-588w-fjff-4h69.