CVE-2026-26955 FreeRDP has Out-of-bounds Write

High 8.8 Published Updated

A malicious RDP server can trigger a heap buffer overflow in FreeRDP clients, leading to arbitrary code execution via corrupted function pointers.

Exploited in the wild
Not known
Login needed
Not needed
Attackable
Over the internet
Victim action needed
A user has to click or open something
Fix
Available

What is CVE-2026-26955?

CVE-2026-26955 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Freerdp Freerdp, published on 25 Feb 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to version 3.23.0, a malicious RDP server can trigger a heap buffer overflow in FreeRDP clients using the GDI surface pipeline (e.g., `xfreerdp`) by sending an RDPGFX ClearCodec surface command with an out-of-bounds destination rectangle. The `gdi_SurfaceCommand_ClearCodec()` handler does not call `is_within_surface()` to validate the command rectangle against the destination surface dimensions, allowing attacker-controlled `cmd->left`/`cmd->top` (and subcodec rectangle offsets) to reach image copy routines that write into `surface->data` without bounds enforcement. The OOB write corrupts an adjacent `gdiGfxSurface` struct's `codecs*` pointer with attacker-controlled pixel data, and corruption of `codecs*` is sufficient to reach an indirect function pointer call (`NSC_CONTEXT.decode` at `nsc.c:500`) on a subsequent codec command — full instruction pointer (RIP) control demonstrated in exploitability harness. Users should upgrade to version 3.23.0 to receive a patch.

Weakness: CWE-805, CWE-787

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-26955?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Freerdp Freerdp.

How do I fix CVE-2026-26955?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2026-26955 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-26955 exists.

All Freerdp Freerdp vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-26955, GHSA-mr6w-ch7c-mqqj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-26955.

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