Advisory Title: Keys Getting Past Panther Screen Lock
    Release Date: 2003 October 28
Affected Product: Mac OS X 10.3 Build 7B85
        Severity: Low
          Impact: Security Bypass
           Where: Local System
          Author: CodeSamurai (codesamurai@mac.com)


## VULNERABILITY ##

With access to the keyboard, an unauthorized user can access the currently 
active screen-locked user environment.  However, there is only a relatively 
small opening in the period of time in which the keys events get through; 
completing complicated operations at the keyboard have shown to be highly 
tedious in actual practice thus far.


## EXPLOIT ##

With the screen effect active, keys pressed before the authentication window 
appears will be sent to the general user environment.


## PRACTICAL TESTS ##

Tested Examples:
- An open word processing document can be typed in.
- Shortcut operations via the keyboard are executed.
- New windows can be spawned.
- New folders can be created in the Finder.
- Switching between running applications is possible.
- One can navigate through the file system and launch applications.
- Terminal was launched and binary was executed from the command line.


## CONCLUSION ##

Although the potential risk due to malicious intent via this vulnerability is 
obvious, tentatively it appears that in real-world practicality, the impact 
will most likely be statistically small.  (But a chain is only as strong as 
its weakest link.)