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             AUSCERT External Security Bulletin Redistribution

                               ESB-2009.1255
A Regression in Solaris Gnome-XScreenSaver (see xscreensaver(1)) Affecting
       Accessibility Support and Solaris Trusted Extensions, Making
                  Locked Desktop Screensaver Unresponsive
                             4 September 2009

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        AusCERT Security Bulletin Summary
        ---------------------------------

Product:           Gnome-XScreenSaver
Publisher:         Sun Microsystems
Operating System:  Solaris
                   OpenSolaris
Impact/Access:     Denial of Service -- Existing Account
Resolution:        Mitigation

Original Bulletin: 
   http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/printfriendly.do?assetkey=1-66-266469-1

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Solution Type: Sun Alert
Solution  266469 :   A Regression in Solaris Gnome-XScreenSaver (see
xscreensaver(1)) Affecting Accessibility Support and Solaris Trusted
Extensions, Making Locked Desktop Screensaver Unresponsive          
Bug ID: 6839026

Product:
Solaris 8 Operating System
Solaris 9 Operating System
Solaris 10 Operating System
OpenSolaris

Date of Workaround Release: 27-Aug-2009

SA Document Body
Regression in Solaris Gnome-XScreenSaver (see xscreensaver(1))  ...

1. Impact

A regression introduced in Solaris xscreensaver(see xscreensaver(1))
patches as defined in section 2 below, introduce multiple regressions as
follows:
a) When the screen is locked and Accessibility is enabled, attempts to
launch Accessibility pop-up windows (screen-magnifier, on-screen keyboard
etc.), may make a system unresponsive.
b) When the screen is locked with Solaris Trusted Extension running,
there is severe performance degradation of the CPU. [tx] Xsun consumes
excessive CPU cycles and the console appears to be hung.

2. Contributing Factors

These issues can occur in the following releases:
SPARC Platform
  * X11 6.4.1 (for Solaris 8) with patch 115298-02 or later
  * Solaris 9 with patch 115158-11 or later
  * Solaris 10 with patch 120094-22 or later
  * OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_109 or later

x86 Platform
  * X11 6.4.1 (for Solaris 8) with patch 115299-02 or later
  * Solaris 9 with patch 115159-11 or later
  * Solaris 10 with patch 120095-22 or later
  * OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_109 or later

Note 1: OpenSolaris distributions may include additional bug fixes
above and beyond the build from which it was derived. The base build can be
derived as follows:
  $ uname -v
  snv_101

Note 2: The Solaris Trusted Extensions issue only occurs on Solaris 10
and OpenSolaris systems with Trusted Extensions installed and running.  
To determine if Trusted Extensions is installed and running on a host, 
execute the following command in the global zone:
  $ svcs /system/labeld
  STATE          STIME      FMRI
  online  07:08:09   svc:/system/labeld:default

If the state is disabled or if "/system/labeld" service is not listed,
then the system is not configured to use Trusted Extensions.

Note 3: The Accessibility issue only occurs if Accessibility support
is enabled on the system.
To determine if Accessibility support is enabled, launch
gnome-accessibility-keyboard-properties
(see gnome-accessibility-keyboard-properties(1)), see the checkbox option.

3. Symptoms

When the screen is locked and xscreensaver is running, it will not be
possible to type the password and unlock the screen.

4. Workaround

There are three workarounds for this issue.

a) killing the xscreensaver process via a remote login will resolve
both the issues described by this Sun Alert.
b) In the case of the accessibility issue, disable accessibility is an
option if this feature is not required by the users of the system.
c) Removing the affected patches as defined in section 2.  However,
these patches fix security issues and as such, this course of action is not
recommended.

5. Resolution

A final resolution is pending completion.

This Sun Alert notification is being provided to you on an "AS IS"
basis. This Sun Alert notification may contain information provided by
third parties. The issues described in this Sun Alert notification may
or may not impact your system(s). Sun makes no representations,
warranties, or guarantees as to the information contained herein. ANY
AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR
NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. BY ACCESSING THIS DOCUMENT
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SUN SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT ARISE
OUT OF YOUR USE OR FAILURE TO USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.
This Sun Alert notification contains Sun proprietary and confidential
information. It is being provided to you pursuant to the provisions of
your agreement to purchase services from Sun, or, if you do not have
such an agreement, the Sun.com Terms of Use. This Sun Alert
notification may only be used for the purposes contemplated by these
agreements.

Copyright 2000-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa
Clara, CA 95054 U.S.A. All rights reserved

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