xorg-x11-xdm: NULL pointer dereference (DoS) when verifying user credentials in FIPS-140 mode or using glibc >= 2.17
Published Dec 27, 2013
4.3
MEDIUMCVSS 2.0
EPSS 2.44%
Description
X.Org xdm 1.1.10, 1.1.11, and possibly other versions, when performing authentication using certain implementations of the crypt API function that can return NULL, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) by attempting to log into an account whose password field contains invalid characters, as demonstrated using the crypt function from glibc 2.17 and later with (1) the "!" character in the salt portion of a password field or (2) a password that has been encrypted using DES or MD5 in FIPS-140 mode.
Affected products
No data.
- 1.1.10
- 1.1.11
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
xorg-x11-xdm
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
xorg-x11-xdm
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | xorg-x11-xdm | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | xorg-x11-xdm | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
Not Vulnerable. This issue does not affect the version of xorg-x11-xdm as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 2, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (10 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2026 | 2.44% (0.02437) | 83.72th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 2.44% (0.02437) | 82.10th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.76% (0.00758) | 71.58th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.28% (0.00284) | 69.54th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Feb 8, 2024 | 0.28% (0.00284) | 67.80th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.28% (0.00284) | 63.70th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.21% (0.01213) | 66.61th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 17, 2023 | 1.21% (0.01213) | 66.22th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.21% (0.01213) | 64.21th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.21% (0.01213) | 40.54th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (8)
- http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/xdm/commit/?id=8d1eb5c74413e4c9a21f689fc106949b121c0117 x_refsource_CONFIRMExploitPatch
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2013-07/msg00002.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSE
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/06/13/8 mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2013-2179 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=10682 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=973695 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-2179
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-2179
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/xdm/commit/?id=8d1eb5c74413e4c9a21f689fc106949b121c0117 | x_refsource_CONFIRMExploitPatch | |
| http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2013-07/msg00002.html | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSE | |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2013/06/13/8 | mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2013-2179 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=10682 | x_refsource_CONFIRM | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=973695 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-2179 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-2179 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.