GLSA 202211-09: xterm: Arbitrary Code Execution

Severity:normal
Title:xterm: Arbitrary Code Execution
Date:11/22/2022
Bugs: #880747
ID:202211-09

Synopsis

A vulnerability has been found in xterm which could allow for arbitrary code execution.

Background

xterm is a terminal emulator for the X Window system.

Affected packages

Package Vulnerable Unaffected Architecture(s)
x11-terms/xterm < 375 >= 375 All supported architectures

Description

xterm does not correctly handle control characters related to OSC 50 font ops sequence handling.

Impact

The vulnerability allows text written to the terminal to write text to the terminal's command line. If the terminal's shell is zsh running with vi line editing mode, text written to the terminal can also trigger the execution of arbitrary commands via writing ^G to the terminal.

Workaround

As a workaround, users can disable xterm's usage of OSC 50 sequences by adding the following to the XResources configuration: XTerm*allowFontOps: false

Resolution

All xterm users should upgrade to the latest version:

          # emerge --sync
          # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=x11-terms/xterm-375"
        

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-202211-09.xml

Concerns?

Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the confidentiality and security of our users machines is of utmost importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to security@gentoo.org or alternatively, you may file a bug at https://bugs.gentoo.org.

License

Copyright 2010 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text belongs to its owner(s). The contents of this document are licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.

Thank you!