XScreenSaver prompt states: "This version of XScreenSaver is very old! Please upgrade!"

[andrewdavidwong]

Qubes OS version:

R3.2

Affected component(s):

XScreenSaver in dom0

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Steps to reproduce the behavior:

Lock the screen using XScreenSaver (the default screen locker) in dom0, then move the cursor or press any key.

Expected behavior:

The normal XScreenSaver prompt is displayed.

Actual behavior:

The XScreenSaver prompt states:

This version of XScreenSaver
is very old! Please upgrade!

General notes:

With all normally available updates applied, the version of XScreenSaver is 5.36.

• Security: It is possible that there are security issues fixed in newer versions of XScreenSaver. By staying on an old version, Qubes 3.2 could be vulnerable to such issues.
• UX: This is probably a byproduct of the fact that dom0 in Qubes 3.2 uses Fedora 23, which has reached EOL. Normally, this is not a security concern. Nonetheless, some users may be confused by the XScreenSaver message or suspect that the Qubes update mechanism is not functioning properly. In addition, the fact that this occurs on Qubes 3.2 but not on Linux distributions that use XScreenSaver (and in which it is updated normally) could be perceived as a shortcoming of Qubes 3.2.

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Related issues:

#1917

[marmarek]

Related discussion about similar problem in Debian stable: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=819703
But it does not directly apply to us, because xscreensaver isn't one of few packages we backport fixes for.

[marmarek]

Related discussion about similar problem in Debian stable: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=819703
But it does not directly apply to us, because xscreensaver isn't one of few packages we backport fixes for.

[unman]

I dont believe there are any security issues fixed in newer versions, so it's simply a cosmetic issue.

[unman]

I dont believe there are any security issues fixed in newer versions, so it's simply a cosmetic issue.

[Polygonbugs]

I'm experiencing this also.

[Polygonbugs]

I'm experiencing this also.