CVE-2026-33145 | xrdp: Authenticated RCE via unsanitized AlternateShell execution in xrdp-sesman

xrdp is an open source RDP server. Versions through 0.10.5 allow an authenticated remote user to execute arbitrary commands on the server due to unsafe handling of the AlternateShell parameter in xrdp-sesman. When the AllowAlternateShell setting is enabled (which is the default when not explicitly configured), xrdp accepts a client-supplied AlternateShell value and executes it via /bin/sh -c during session initialization. This results in shell-interpreted execution of unsanitized, user-controlled input. This behavior effectively provides a scriptable remote command execution primitive over RDP within the security context of the authenticated user, occurring prior to normal window manager startup. This can bypass expected session initialization flows and operational assumptions that restrict execution to interactive desktop environments. This issue has been fixed in version 0.10.6.

Published: 2026-04-17 Last update: 2026-04-27 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-33145 is rated Low Risk (33.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.08%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-33145

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-18 0.08%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-33145

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
2.8 3.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-33145

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-33145

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-33145 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (xrdp), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 4, resolved 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-33145
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-33145/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-33145 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (xrdp), 9 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, trusty, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 8, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-33145

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-33145

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
neutrinolabs xrdp < 0.10.6 cpe:2.3:a:neutrinolabs:xrdp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-33145

cvelogic Threat Intelligence