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FreerdpApplication

CVE-2026-45700

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.26.0 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 3.26.0, FreeRDP's planar bitmap decoder has an out-of-bounds heap write when decoding RLE planar data. In libfreerdp/codec/planar.c, freerdp_bitmap_decompress_planar() validates the X destination coordinate nXDst against the caller-provided destination stride (nDstStep) even when it is writing into the internal temp buffer pTempData. An attacker can bypass the check with a large nDstStep and a large nXDst, causing planar_decompress_plane_rle() to write past the end of pTempData. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.26.0.

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 confidence

FreeRDP's planar bitmap decoder has an out-of-bounds heap write vulnerability in the RLE decompression path. The function freerdp_bitmap_decompress_planar() incorrectly validates the X destination coordinate (nXDst) against the caller-provided destination stride (nDstStep) even when writing to an internal temp buffer (pTempData). Attackers can bypass this check by providing a large nDstStep and nXDst, causing planar_decompress_plane_rle() to write past the end of pTempData into heap memory.

MitigationUpgrade FreeRDP to version 3.26.0 or later. Given the critical severity (9.8 CVSS) and heap corruption nature, prioritize patching in any exposed deployments immediately.

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:< 3.26.0

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. Identify FreeRDP version
    Run 'freerdp-version' or check the installed freerdp library package version (e.g., dpkg -l freerdp, rpm -q freerdp, or check /usr/lib/libfreerdp* library files)
    Affected if Installed version is earlier than 3.26.0 (any version < 3.26.0 is affected)
  2. Confirm planar codec is in use
    Check that RDP sessions can involve bitmap decompression - the planar codec in libfreerdp/codec/planar.c is used by default for decompressing remote desktop bitmaps when receiving screen updates
    Affected if The system processes RDP bitmap data (this is enabled by default in FreeRDP clients; no explicit configuration needed to be vulnerable)
  3. Locate vulnerable library file
    Find libfreerdp-codec.so or libfreerdp*.so libraries in the system (typically under /usr/lib or /usr/lib64)
    Affected if The shared library file exists and its build date corresponds to an unpatched version < 3.26.0

If the installed FreeRDP version is less than 3.26.0 and the planar bitmap decoder is in use (default behavior), the system is vulnerable to out-of-bounds heap writes via the freerdp_bitmap_decompress_planar() function.

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 3.26.0 or later
Fixed in 3.26.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FreeRDP to version 3.26.0 or later. Given the critical severity (9.8 CVSS) and heap corruption nature, prioritize patching in any exposed deployments immediately.

Recommended fix High confidence

FreeRDP 3.6.0

  1. Check the currently installed FreeRDP version using your package manager or by running 'freerdp-version' or checking libfreerdp version
  2. Update your package repository to ensure you have access to the latest packages
  3. Install FreeRDP version 3.6.0 or higher using your system's package manager (e.g., 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install freerdp3' for Debian/Ubuntu, or 'sudo dnf update freerdp' for Fedora/RHEL)
  4. If installing from source, download FreeRDP 3.6.0 from the official GitHub repository (github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP), extract the source, and run './configure && make && sudo make install'
  5. Verify the installed version after upgrade matches 3.6.0 or later by running 'freerdp-version' or checking the library file
Caveat Review release notes for 3.6.0 to check for any API/ABI changes that might affect dependent applications; minor version upgrades typically maintain backward compatibility

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.

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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-2026-45700 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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