CVE-2023-5380 | Xorg-x11-server: use-after-free bug in destroywindow

A use-after-free flaw was found in the xorg-x11-server. An X server crash may occur in a very specific and legacy configuration (a multi-screen setup with multiple protocol screens, also known as Zaphod mode) if the pointer is warped from within a window on one screen to the root window of the other screen and if the original window is destroyed followed by another window being destroyed.

Published: 2023-10-25 Last update: 2025-11-04 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-5380 is rated Low Risk (27.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.08%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-5380

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-21 0.05% 0.08% +0.04%
2 2025-11-18 0.06% 0.05% -0.01%
3 2025-03-17 0.06%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-5380

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.0 3.6 [email protected]
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.0 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-5380

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-5380

vendor priority summary link
alpine CVE-2023-5380: 2 source package rows (xorg-server, xwayland); 16 state rows across 6 repos (3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 12, open 4. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-5380
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-5380 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (xorg-server), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-5380
gentoo normal CVE-2023-5380: 1 GLSA(s) (202401-30), 2 atom(s) (x11-base/xorg-server, x11-base/xwayland); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-5380
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5380
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5380/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-5380 medium priority: Ubuntu including 11 source packages (xorg, xorg-hwe-16.04, …), 132 status rows across 12 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 84, not-affected 22, released 12, needs-triage 9, ignored 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-5380

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-5380

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
x.org x_server < 21.1.9 cpe:2.3:a:x.org:x_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
x.org xwayland < 23.2.2 cpe:2.3:a:x.org:xwayland:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 37 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 38 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 39 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 12.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:12.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-5380

URL Tags
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7428 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2169
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2298
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2995
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:3067
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5380 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2244736 Issue Tracking
https://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-announce/2023-October/003430.html Patch Vendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00036.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/2WS5E7H4A5J3U5YBCTMRPQVGWK5LVH7D/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/3RK66CXMXO3PCPDU3GDY5FK4UYHUXQJT/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/AKKIE626TZOOPD533EYN47J4RFNHZVOP/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/HO2Q2NP6R62ZRQQG3XQ4AXUT7J2EKKKY/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/SN6KV4XGQJRVAOSM5C3CWMVAXO53COIP/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/TJXNI4BXURC2BKPNAHFJK3C5ZETB7PER/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202401-30
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231130-0004/
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5534
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