Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2020-11038
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn FreeRDP less than or equal to 2.0.0, an Integer Overflow to Buffer Overflow exists. When using /video redirection, a manipulated server can instruct the client to allocate a buffer with a smaller size than requested due to an integer overflow in size calculation. With later messages, the server can manipulate the client to write data out of bound to the previously allocated buffer. This has been patched in 2.1.0.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceFreeRDP versions 2.0.0 and earlier contain an integer overflow vulnerability in the /video redirection feature. A malicious server can cause the client to allocate a buffer smaller than intended due to overflow in size calculation, then trigger out-of-bounds writes to that undersized buffer.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 10.0< 2.1.0= 15.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify FreeRDP installationRun 'xfreerdp --version' or 'freerdp-version' command to check if FreeRDP client is installed on the systemAffected if FreeRDP is not installed, then not affected by this CVE
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Determine installed FreeRDP versionExecute 'dpkg -l freerdp' on Debian/Ubuntu or 'rpm -qa | grep freerdp' on RHEL/openSUSE to retrieve the exact package version numberAffected if Version is less than 2.1.0 (e.g., 2.0.0, 1.x.x, or any version below 2.1.0)
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Check if video redirection is in useReview any FreeRDP connection command scripts or session logs for the /video flag or video redirection parameter being passed to the clientAffected if Video redirection (/video) is explicitly used or configured in connection parameters
A user is affected if they have FreeRDP version 2.0.0 or earlier installed AND actively use the video redirection feature in their RDP sessions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data2.1.0
Upgrade FreeRDP to version 2.1.0 or later to patch the integer overflow check in the video redirection size calculation.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11038 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-11038 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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