CVE-2026-25997 FreeRDP has heap-use-after-free in xf_clipboard_format_equal
A heap use-after-free in FreeRDP's clipboard handling allows attackers to potentially execute code or cause a crash via race conditions during reconnection.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-25997?
CVE-2026-25997 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Freerdp Freerdp, published on 25 Feb 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to version 3.23.0, `xf_clipboard_format_equal` reads freed `lastSentFormats` memory because `xf_clipboard_formats_free` (called from the cliprdr channel thread during auto-reconnect) frees the array while the X11 event thread concurrently iterates it in `xf_clipboard_changed`, triggering a heap use after free. Version 3.23.0 fixes the issue.
Weakness: CWE-416
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-25997?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Freerdp Freerdp.
How do I fix CVE-2026-25997?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-25997 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-25997 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in Freerdp Freerdp
- CVE-2021-37594 Other in n/a
- CVE-2021-37595 Other in n/a
- CVE-2026-67305 FreeRDP Windows Client before 3.29.0 Heap Buffer Overflow via Cliprdr
- CVE-2026-66402 FreeRDP before 3.29.0 TLS Certificate Identity Validation Bypass
- CVE-2026-67289 FreeRDP before 3.29.0 HTTP Proxy Request Injection via Redirection
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-25997, GHSA-q5j3-m6jf-3jq4, MINI-xjgr-8rpq-g9vf, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-25997.