Vulnerability · Published Feb 25, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-25959FreeRDP has heap-use-after-free in xf_cliprdr_provide_data_
Medium 5.5
In plain English
A medium-severity use-after-free in FreeRDP from FreeRDP. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.7% (higher than 51% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to version 3.23.0, `xf_cliprdr_provide_data_` passes freed `pDstData` to `XChangeProperty` because the cliprdr channel thread calls `xf_cliprdr_server_format_data_response` which converts and uses the clipboard data without holding any lock, while the X11 event thread concurrently calls `xf_cliprdr_clear_cached_data` → `HashTable_Clear` which frees the same data via `xf_cached_data_free`, triggering a heap use after free. Version 3.23.0 fixes the issue.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.23 | freerdp | 3.23.0-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Alpine:v3.24 | freerdp | 3.23.0-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Debian:12 | freerdp2 | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Debian:13 | freerdp3 | 3.15.0+dfsg-2.1+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Debian:14 | freerdp3 | 3.23.0+dfsg-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | freerdp2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | freerdp3 | 3.5.1+dfsg1-0ubuntu1.4 | USN-8105-1 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | freerdp3 | 3.5.1+dfsg1-0ubuntu1.4 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | freerdp3 | 3.16.0+dfsg-2ubuntu0.3 | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-25959 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | freerdp3 | 3.16.0+dfsg-2ubuntu0.3 | USN-8105-1 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-416 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
References
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/security/advisories/GHSA-78xg-v4p2-4w3c x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/commit/d3e8b3b9365be96a4f11dda149d71b3287227d0a x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/blob/5c7aae27d0417b42b4806c2a5c583ca39dd9ef1e/client/X11/xf_cliprdr.c#L1229-L1243 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/blob/5c7aae27d0417b42b4806c2a5c583ca39dd9ef1e/client/X11/xf_cliprdr.c#L1337-L1344 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/blob/5c7aae27d0417b42b4806c2a5c583ca39dd9ef1e/client/X11/xf_cliprdr.c#L200-L208 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/blob/5c7aae27d0417b42b4806c2a5c583ca39dd9ef1e/client/X11/xf_cliprdr.c#L2295 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/blob/5c7aae27d0417b42b4806c2a5c583ca39dd9ef1e/client/X11/xf_cliprdr.c#L2323-L2334 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/blob/5c7aae27d0417b42b4806c2a5c583ca39dd9ef1e/client/X11/xf_cliprdr.c#L2363 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/blob/5c7aae27d0417b42b4806c2a5c583ca39dd9ef1e/client/X11/xf_cliprdr.c#L933 x_refsource_MISC