# CVE-2026-44422: FreeRDP RDPEAR NDR ref-id aliasing causes client-side UAF/double-free and type confusion

> A malicious server can trigger a use-after-free or double-free in the FreeRDP client via RDPEAR NDR parsing, potentially leading to code execution or crashes.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 May 2026
- **Updated:** 27 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-44422, GHSA-j9q5-7g8m-jc9v, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-44422

## What is CVE-2026-44422?

CVE-2026-44422 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Freerdp Freerdp, published on 29 May 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 3.26.0, FreeRDP's RDPEAR NDR parser accepts one non-null NDR pointer ref-id for multiple logical pointer fields without tracking the pointed object's expected NDR type or ownership. When the same ref-id is reused across two pointer fields, the parser assigns the same heap object to both output fields. The generic destructor later walks each field independently and destroys/frees both pointers. This causes a malicious-server-triggerable heap use-after-free / double-free in the FreeRDP client's RDPEAR authentication-redirection path. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.26.0.

Weakness: CWE-825 (Expired Pointer Dereference), CWE-416 (Use After Free), CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44422?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Freerdp Freerdp.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-44422?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-44422 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44422 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Freerdp Freerdp

- [CVE-2021-37594](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37594/): Other in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-37595](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37595/): Other in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-67305](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-67305/): FreeRDP Windows Client before 3.29.0 Heap Buffer Overflow via Cliprdr (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2026-66402](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-66402/): FreeRDP before 3.29.0 TLS Certificate Identity Validation Bypass (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-67289](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-67289/): FreeRDP before 3.29.0 HTTP Proxy Request Injection via Redirection (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-44422 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-44422 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Freerdp Freerdp, published on 29 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44422 exists.

Affected product: Freerdp Freerdp. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44422/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44422/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44422
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44422
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44422

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44422/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.