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CVE-2009-3101: Solaris xscreensaver can freeze console for local users

CVE-2009-3101 · published 17 years ago

Summary

The screen‑locking program xscreensaver on Solaris 10 and certain OpenSolaris versions may not work correctly with Trusted Extensions. A local user can trigger it to consume CPU and hang the console, effectively denying service. Apply the latest Solaris patches or disable the screen locker until the fix is installed.

What to do

The CVE record does not list a fixed version. Check the vendor's site or the advisory links below - a fix may already be released.

Affected software

Vendor	Product	Affected versions
sun	opensolaris	snv_109 snv_110 snv_111 snv_112 snv_113 snv_114 snv_115 snv_116 snv_117 snv_118 snv_119 snv_120 11 more version ranges `cpe:2.3:o:sun:opensolaris:snv_109::sparc:::::`

Original advisory text

xscreensaver (aka Gnome-XScreenSaver) in Sun Solaris 10, and OpenSolaris snv_109 through snv_122, does not properly handle Trusted Extensions, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption and console hang) by locking the screen, related to a regression in certain Solaris and OpenSolaris patches.

References

http://bugs.opensolaris.org/view_bug.do?bug_id=6839026 Exploit
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-66-266469-1 Vendor Advisory

Fix within

Internet-facing 60 days

Internal At next upgrade

Not known to be exploited
Needs hands-on effort to exploit (estimated)
Gives an attacker partial control (estimated)

Severity

4.9 Medium

Exploitation

<1% chance of attack within 30 days

Type

CWE-399Resource Management Errors

Timeline

Published8 Sep 2009

Updated4 Nov 2026

First seen29 Sep 2026

Sources

CVE-2009-3101 · NVD

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