Buffer overflow in Freerdp
CVE-2026-26965
FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to version 3.23.0, in the RLE planar decode path, `planar_decompress_plane_rle()` writes into `pDstData` at `((nYDst+y) * nDstStep) + (4*nXDst) + nChannel` without verifying that `(nYDst+nSrcHeight)` fits in the destination height or that `(nXDst+nSrcWidth)` fits in the destination stride. When `TempFormat != DstFormat`, `pDstData` becomes `planar->pTempData` (sized for the desktop), while `nYDst` is only validated against the **surface** by `is_within_surface()`. A malicious RDP server can exploit this to perform a heap out-of-bounds write with attacker-controlled offset and pixel data on any connecting FreeRDP client. The OOB write reaches up to 132,096 bytes past the temp buffer end, and on the brk heap (desktop ≤ 128×128), an adjacent `NSC_CONTEXT` struct's `decode` function pointer is overwritten with attacker-controlled pixel data — control-flow–relevant corruption (function pointer overwritten) demonstrated under deterministic heap layout (`nsc->decode = 0xFF414141FF414141`). Version 3.23.0 fixes the vulnerability.
Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.006 (47.3th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 47th percentile — 47.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.006 · newest: 0.006 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- Freerdp — versions < 3.23.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/security/advisories/GHSA-5vgf-mw4f-r33h (Exploit, Patch, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory)
- github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/commit/a0be5cb87d760bb1c803ad1bb835aa1e73e62abc (Patch)
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
- 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-26965?
- CVE-2026-26965 is a high-severity vulnerability in Freerdp, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2026-02-25.
- How severe is CVE-2026-26965?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.