Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-41252 is a critical-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Neutrinolabs Xrdp. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 46th 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-46017
Vulnerability Data
xrdp is an open source RDP server. Versions 0.10.6 and prior contain a missing bounds check in xrdp, which allows a heap-based buffer overflow when operating in vnc-any mode. The issue occurs during the handling of RFB protocol color map…
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messages from a VNC server, where incoming color indices are not properly validated. A malicious VNC server can exploit this flaw by sending crafted messages with out-of-range values, leading to an out-of-bounds write on the heap. This memory corruption can result in a denial of service (DoS) or potentially allow remote code execution (RCE) prior to authentication. This issue has been fixed in version 0.10.6.1.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Heap buffer overflow in public-facing xrdp RDP server (vnc-any mode) directly enables remote exploitation for RCE/DoS prior to auth.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly enforces validation of RFB color-map indices received from the VNC server, eliminating the missing bounds check that produces the heap overflow.
Requires hardware-enforced memory protections (NX, ASLR, guard pages) that block reliable exploitation of the resulting out-of-bounds heap write into RCE.
Mandates prompt application of the vendor patch (0.10.6.1) that adds the missing bounds check for vnc-any mode.
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-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.
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.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.
Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.
Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.
Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.
Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.