Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
xscreensaver before 5.14 could crash while activating in a specific screen-blanking configuration, leaving the user session unlocked. The practical risk is local access to an unattended workstation without authentication, not remote compromise.
Executive priority
Treat this as a workstation access-control issue. Prioritize shared, high-trust, administrative, or physically accessible desktops; broad emergency response is not supported by the provided evidence.
Technical view
The reported issue affects xscreensaver versions before 5.14 when Blank Only Mode is used and DPMS is disabled. During activation, the process may exit instead of locking the session, allowing a local attacker to access resources without authenticating.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to Unix/Linux desktop systems running xscreensaver before 5.14 with Blank Only Mode configured and DPMS disabled. Servers without graphical sessions are unlikely to be exposed.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not cite active exploitation, and KEV status is false. Exploitation requires local access to an affected desktop session at the moment the lock should activate.
Researcher notes
Evidence is consistent but sparse: no CVSS, CWE, exploit details, or KEV listing are provided. The key exposure variables are xscreensaver version, Blank Only Mode, DPMS state, and local physical/session access.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade xscreensaver to version 5.14 or a vendor-supported fixed package.
- Avoid Blank Only Mode with DPMS disabled until patched.
- Review Debian, Red Hat, and upstream guidance for affected distribution packages.
- Reduce unattended physical access to affected workstations.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed xscreensaver versions on managed desktop systems.
- Check whether Blank Only Mode is configured and DPMS is disabled.
- Confirm patched systems run xscreensaver 5.14 or vendor-fixed builds.
- Verify screen locking still requires authentication after activation.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2011-2187 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2011-2187CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2011-2187CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2011-2187CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=627382CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- [oss-security] 20110606 Re: CVE Request -- xscreensaver -- exits when activatedCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- https://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/changelog.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.