keybindings-properties: DoS by screenshot

Bug #34492 reported by Paul Sladen
72
This bug affects 7 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
gnome-utils
Expired
High
gnome-utils (Ubuntu)
Triaged
Low
Ubuntu Desktop Bugs

Bug Description

When using a keycombination such as:

  Alt-PrtScrn-s

it is possible to cause a temporary Denial of Service on the machine as the gnome-screenshot utility is launched at a rate of $keyboard_repeat_rate per second, causing a huge number of processes to be sprawned.

Ideally, this should be rate-limited to a maximum of two of the same key-action per second, or restrict sprawning further actions of the same type until the first one has completed loading.

Changed in gnome-control-center:
assignee: nobody → desktop-bugs
Revision history for this message
Pascal De Vuyst (pascal-devuyst) wrote :

I confirm this bug using dapper 20060530 and gnome-utils 2.14.0-0ubuntu5.

Steps to reproduce:
Keep PrtScrn or Alt+PrtScrn pressed, a lot of gnome-screenshot windows will show up depending on how long you pressed PrtScrn.

Suggested solution:
Only launch gnome-screenshot after releasing PrtScrn or Alt+PrtScrn not while pressing it.

Revision history for this message
Pascal De Vuyst (pascal-devuyst) wrote :

Changed affects to gnome-utils, since gnome-screenshot is in gnome-utils.

Changed in gnome-control-center:
status: Unconfirmed → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Sebastien Bacher (seb128) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Paul Sladen (sladen) wrote :

I managed to kill the Desktop CD this afternoon by doing this.

Revision history for this message
Sebastien Bacher (seb128) wrote :

what is the interest of the new comment?

Changed in gnome-utils:
importance: Medium → Low
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Martin Wimmer (martin-wimmer) wrote :

This now appears again in intrepid

Revision history for this message
ColdFusion (bryan-electricedgesystems) wrote :

I have this happen in Intrepoid, but it is NOT due to pressing PrtScrn or Alt+PrtScrn. It happens intermittently when using Open Office. It seems to be related to using ctrl+shift+left arrow to select a whole line of text. It doesn't always happen, but frequently enough to be very serious.

I've even seen it happen when using Windows apps in VirtualBox.

How can this be considered low priority? If it can bring down your system (including losing unsaved work) it must surely be CRITICAL!!!

I swear I'd leave Linux just for this stupid bug!!!

Please fix ASAP....I'll test anything that needs testing....this is KILLING my productivity....always happens

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Revision history for this message
crf (chrisfahlman) wrote :

I had something similar happen while running dist-upgrade.

While the computer was chugging away, I pressed the ctrl-prtSc on the keyboard. Nothing happened immediately, so a walked away (thinking the computer was busy: it is old and slow). When I came back, the dist-upgrade had finished, but about 50 save print screen dialogs were up. I had only pressed the Prt-screen button for milliseconds.

Changed in gnome-utils:
importance: Unknown → High
Revision history for this message
fennec (fennec-gmail) wrote :

I just dropped a notebook on PrintScreen and had to reboot as a result. That's just wrong. :(

Changed in gnome-utils:
status: Confirmed → Expired
Revision history for this message
bojojo@orange.fr (bojojo-orange) wrote :

"[Bug 34492] Re: keybindings-properties: DoS by screenshot"
fennec doc

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