Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-23732

Memory Safety in Freerdp ≤ 3.21.0

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
19 January 2026
Modified
28 January 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v4 5.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0048 39th percentile
Risk Priority 39 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-23732 is a medium-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Freerdp Freerdp. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 39th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-23732 is a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-122) in the FastGlyph parsing functionality of FreeRDP, a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). In versions prior to 3.21.0, the parser trusts the `cbData` or remaining length fields without validating them against the minimum size implied by the `cx` and `cy` dimensions, leading to a client-side global buffer overflow. The issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H), highlighting its potential for high-impact denial of service.

A malicious RDP server can exploit this vulnerability against any client using a vulnerable FreeRDP version by sending crafted FastGlyph data during a connection. No special privileges or user interaction are required, and exploitation occurs over the network with low complexity. Successful exploitation results in a client crash, enabling denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that disrupt remote desktop sessions.

Mitigation is addressed in FreeRDP version 3.21.0, which includes a patch for the FastGlyph parsing issue, as detailed in the project's GitHub release notes and related code changes in files such as glyph.c, color.c, graphics.c, and orders.c. Security practitioners should advise users to update to 3.21.0 or later and avoid connecting to untrusted RDP servers.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to version 3.21.0, FastGlyph parsing trusts `cbData`/remaining length and never validates against the minimum size implied by `cx/cy`. A malicious server can trigger a client‑side global buffer overflow, causing…

more

a crash (DoS). Version 3.21.0 contains a patch for the issue.

CWE(s)
CWE-122

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-23534Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-24682Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-23532Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-23531Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-23533Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-24679Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-22854Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-64620Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-23530Same product: Freerdp Freerdp
CVE-2026-44420Same product: Freerdp Freerdp

Affected Assets

freerdp
freerdp
≤ 3.21.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and memory-error detectors) can discover heap overflows after they have been coded.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation enforces bounds checking on data written to heap buffers, directly stopping the overflow condition from being introduced.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Security engineering principles require use of memory-safe constructs and bounds-checked allocation routines that avoid introducing heap overflows.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability of a heap overflow to execute attacker-controlled code or corrupt adjacent structures.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.

A.8.32 Change management none match
none

Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.

References