CVE-2026-55238
Received Received - Intake

Memory Corruption in xrdp RDP Server

Publication date: 2026-07-20

Last updated on: 2026-07-20

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
xrdp is an open source RDP server. Versions 0.10.6 and prior contain a vulnerability concerning the processing of RDP Confirm Active PDU, where during the capability negotiation phase, the parser did not perform sufficient length validation for specific capability sets. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could potentially exploit this flaw by sending a specially crafted RDP packet containing malformed capability data. Due to missing bounds checks, the xrdp process may perform out-of-bounds memory reads, which can result in the termination of the service (Denial of Service). However, since xrdp forks a new process for each connection by default, an out-of-bounds read causing a process crash is unlikely to bring down the entire xrdp service. This issue has been fixed in version 0.10.6.1.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-07-20
Last Modified
2026-07-20
Generated
2026-07-21
AI Q&A
2026-07-20
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-55238
EUVD
EUVD-2026-46036

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
neutrinolabs xrdp to 0.10.6 (inc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-126 The product reads from a buffer using buffer access mechanisms such as indexes or pointers that reference memory locations after the targeted buffer.

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is in xrdp versions up to 0.10.6 during RDP capability negotiation. The parser fails to validate the length of capability sets in RDP Confirm Active PDUs. A remote attacker can send a malformed RDP packet to trigger out-of-bounds memory reads, causing the xrdp service to crash and leading to a Denial of Service.

Detection Guidance

Detecting this vulnerability requires monitoring for unusual RDP traffic or crashes in xrdp processes. Check xrdp logs for malformed capability PDUs or unexpected terminations. Use network monitoring tools like Wireshark to inspect RDP packets for invalid capability sets during negotiation.

Impact Analysis

The main impact is a Denial of Service where the xrdp service may terminate due to out-of-bounds memory reads. However, since xrdp forks a new process per connection, a crash in one process is unlikely to affect the entire service.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability primarily impacts service availability by causing Denial of Service (DoS) conditions through out-of-bounds memory reads. It does not directly affect data confidentiality or integrity, which are key concerns for GDPR and HIPAA compliance. However, repeated DoS incidents could disrupt access to systems handling personal or health data, potentially violating availability requirements in these regulations.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade xrdp to version 0.10.6.1 or later immediately. If upgrading is not possible, restrict network access to xrdp ports (default 3389) using firewalls. Monitor xrdp processes for crashes and apply network-level mitigations like rate limiting RDP traffic.

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