CVE-2026-121955
Undergoing Analysis Undergoing Analysis - In Progress

Use-After-Free in FreeRDP Smartcard Emulation

Publication date: 2026-11-04

Last updated on: 2026-11-04

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description
FreeRDP before 3.32.2 contains a use-after-free vulnerability in Emulate_SCardReleaseContext that frees the emulated SCardContext before its worker thread is cancelled and joined. A malicious server can send ESTABLISHCONTEXT, a long-timeout GETSTATUSCHANGE, then RELEASECONTEXT smartcard IRPs to corrupt heap memory or crash clients using smartcard emulation.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-11-04
Last Modified
2026-11-04
Generated
2026-11-04
AI Q&A
2026-11-04
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-121955
EUVD
EUVD-2026-116955

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
FreeRDP FreeRDP 0

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Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-416 The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-121955 is a use-after-free vulnerability in FreeRDP's smartcard emulation feature. It occurs when a remote attacker sends a sequence of smartcard IRPs (ESTABLISHCONTEXT, GETSTATUSCHANGE with long timeout, RELEASECONTEXT) to a client using smartcard emulation. The RELEASECONTEXT function frees the SCardContext before its worker thread is cancelled, causing the GETSTATUSCHANGE operation to read from freed memory.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check if your FreeRDP version is below 3.32.2. Run: freerdp2 --version. If the output shows a version older than 3.32.2, the system is vulnerable. Additionally, monitor for crashes or heap corruption during smartcard emulation operations.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to heap memory corruption or crashes in FreeRDP clients with smartcard emulation enabled. A remote attacker could exploit it to cause denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code on affected systems.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade FreeRDP to version 3.32.2 or later immediately. Disable smartcard emulation if not required. Block external smartcard IRPs at the network level if possible. Monitor systems for unusual crashes or memory corruption.

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