FreerdpApplication

CVE-2026-22854

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.20.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to 3.20.1, a heap-buffer-overflow occurs in drive read when a server-controlled read length is used to read file data into an IRP output stream buffer without a hard upper bound, allowing an oversized read to overwrite heap memory. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.20.1.

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 confidence

A heap-buffer-overflow vulnerability exists in FreeRDP's drive read functionality where a server-controlled read length is used without a hard upper bound, allowing an oversized read to overwrite adjacent heap memory and potentially enable remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade FreeRDP to version 3.20.1 or later to patch the heap-buffer-overflow. Until then, disable drive redirection features when connecting to untrusted servers.

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
FreerdpApplication
Affected:< 3.20.1

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check FreeRDP installed version
    Run 'freerdp-version' or check the version of the freerdp package installed via package manager (dpkg, rpm, brew, etc.)
    Affected if Installed version is less than 3.20.1
  2. Identify FreeRDP client binaries in use
    Locate freerdp client executables (xfreerdp, wfreerdp, etc.) on the system using 'which xfreerdp' or similar commands
    Affected if Any FreeRDP client binary with version below 3.20.1 is in use
  3. Inspect RDP connection configurations
    Review saved .rdp files and command histories for connections that include drive redirection parameters (such as /drive:, /drives:, or Drive: directive)
    Affected if Drive redirection is configured in any RDP connection profile or command used with a vulnerable FreeRDP version
  4. Check for active drive mappings in sessions
    Examine running FreeRDP session parameters or logs for active drive redirection mounts
    Affected if A drive redirection session is active or was recently used with vulnerable version of FreeRDP

Environment is affected if FreeRDP version is below 3.20.1 AND drive redirection feature is enabled or has been used to connect to untrusted servers

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.20.1 or later
Fixed in 3.20.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FreeRDP to version 3.20.1 or later to patch the heap-buffer-overflow. Until then, disable drive redirection features when connecting to untrusted servers.

Recommended fix High confidence

3.20.1

  1. Check the currently installed FreeRDP version using `freerdp-version`, `xfreerdp -version`, or the system package manager
  2. Upgrade FreeRDP to version 3.20.1 or later via the appropriate package manager or by building from source
  3. Verify the installed version is 3.20.1 or higher to confirm the vulnerability is patched

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Freerdp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-22854 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-22854 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data