Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-41477 is a high-severity Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability in Deskflow Deskflow. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 12th 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 AC-14 (Permitted Actions Without Identification or Authentication) and AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) — 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-2026-41477 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Deskflow, a keyboard and mouse sharing application. The issue affects stable version 1.20.0 and later, as well as Continuous prerelease version 1.26.0.134 and earlier. In these versions, the Deskflow daemon runs with SYSTEM privileges and exposes an IPC named pipe configured with WorldAccessOption enabled. This pipe allows the daemon to process privileged commands without any authentication, enabling local privilege escalation. The vulnerability is rated with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Function) and CWE-862 (Missing Authorization).
A local unprivileged user can exploit this vulnerability by connecting to the exposed IPC named pipe and sending crafted privileged commands. No advanced skills or user interaction are required due to the low attack complexity and lack of authentication checks. Successful exploitation grants the attacker the ability to execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM-level privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise, including high-impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability violations on the affected Windows host.
The vendor has published a security advisory detailing the issue at https://github.com/deskflow/deskflow/security/advisories/GHSA-6rx5-g478-775c, which provides guidance on mitigation and available patches. Security practitioners should consult this advisory for specific remediation steps, such as upgrading to a patched version or applying workarounds to restrict access to the IPC pipe.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-25623
Vulnerability Data
Deskflow is a keyboard and mouse sharing app. In 1.20.0, 1.26.0.134, and earlier, Deskflow daemon runs as SYSTEM and exposes an IPC named pipe with WorldAccessOption enabled. The daemon processes privileged commands without authentication, allowing any local unprivileged user to…
more
execute arbitrary commands as SYSTEM. Affects both stable v1.20.0 + and Continuous v1.26.0.134 prerelease.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 11 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V6.2.3V6.4.4V10.4.16V12.1.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
AC-3 directly requires enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally eliminating missing authorization checks.
Directly mandates unique identification and authentication of users before access to functions requiring identity.
Extends the same authentication requirement to non-organizational users accessing critical functionality.
Requires authentication of services before they can invoke or expose critical functions.
Explicitly identifies and limits actions permitted without authentication, preventing critical functions from being exposed.
AC-24 mandates that access control decisions are applied to each request, preventing bypass of authorization logic.
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.
Directly requires authentication of users/services/hardware, which eliminates missing authentication for critical functions.
Explicitly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing authorizations and least privilege, directly preventing missing authorization checks.
Managing identities and credentials is a prerequisite for authentication but does not itself enforce it on critical functions.
Protecting networks from unauthorized access can be undermined by missing authentication but does not address the root authentication gap.
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.
The control explicitly calls for authentication before any critical function is reached, eliminating the possibility of bypassing authentication for high-value operations.
Requiring authentication and credentials before any access occurs eliminates the absence of authorization checks that would otherwise allow an unauthenticated actor to reach protected resources.
Requiring formal authorization of every access request before rights are granted ensures that checks for required permissions are performed, preventing missing authorization checks from being introduced.
Mandatory authorization checks and central records of granted rights ensure that every access attempt is preceded by an explicit decision rather than relying on missing checks.
Segregating the approval of access rights from their implementation provides an independent check that reduces the impact of missing authorization checks in the resulting system configuration.
By requiring competent outsiders to verify that every function enforces the need-to-know principle, the control lowers the likelihood that missing authorization checks persist undetected.
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 (4 rules)
- V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
- V-248585 OL 8 must require reauthentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
RHEL 7 (4 rules)
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
- V-251704 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
- V-204429 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-862
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
- V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
- V-237643 RHEL 8 must require re-authentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306