Raw vector
CVSS: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:XSummary
CVE-2026-27950 is a medium-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Freerdp Freerdp. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 35th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — 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-2026-27950 is a heap-use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) in FreeRDP, a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. It stems from an incomplete fix for the issue originally described in CVE-2026-24680. While the prior advisory indicated resolution, the patch was applied only to the SDL3 code path, leaving the SDL2 implementation vulnerable. In SDL2, a pointer is freed but not nulled, enabling use-after-free conditions in affected builds or environments prior to version 3.23.0. The vulnerability 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).
Remote, unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity and no user interaction required. By triggering the vulnerable execution flow in FreeRDP clients using SDL2, attackers can cause a heap-use-after-free, leading to denial of service through application crashes or instability, with high impact on availability but no direct confidentiality or integrity effects.
The FreeRDP security advisory (GHSA-rvfg-86cr-5r6p) and related commits detail the mitigation: upgrade to version 3.23.0, which applies the pointer-nulling fix to both SDL2 and SDL3 paths. Specific changes appear in commits like 5f62aa11c1bdf00f94c40ea9ebb260a752740b80 and c42ecbd183b001e76bfc3614cddfad0034acc758, addressing the SDL2 file sdl_pointer.cpp at lines 63-64.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-8754
Vulnerability Data
FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to version 3.23.0, the fix for the heap-use-after-free described in CVE-2026-24680 is incomplete. While the vulnerable execution flow referenced in the advisory exists in the SDL2 implementation, the fix…
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appears to have been applied only to the SDL3 code path. In the SDL2 implementation, the pointer is not nulled after free. This creates a situation where the advisory suggests the vulnerability is fully resolved, while builds or environments still using SDL2 may retain the vulnerable logic. A complete fix is available in version 3.23.0.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V1.4.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.
Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.
Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.
Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.
Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.
Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.
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.
Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.
Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.
Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.
Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.
Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
- V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416