Topic

An updated gnome-screensaver package that fixes a security flaw is now
available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux FasTrack 5.

This update has been rated as having moderate security impact by the Red
Hat Security Response Team.

Description

gnome-screensaver is the GNOME project's official screen saver program.

A flaw was found in the way gnome-screensaver verified user passwords. When
a system used a remote directory service for login credentials, a local
attacker able to cause a network outage could cause gnome-screensaver to
crash, unlocking the screen. (CVE-2008-0887)

Users of gnome-screensaver should upgrade to this updated package, which
contains a backported patch to correct this issue.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released
errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use
the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_58_10188

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 5 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 5 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 435773 - CVE-2008-0887 gnome-screensaver using NIS auth will unlock if NIS goes away

CVEs

• CVE-2008-0887

References

• http://www.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#moderate