CVE-2026-44422 | FreeRDP RDPEAR NDR ref-id aliasing causes client-side UAF/double-free and type confusion

Exp

FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to 3.26.0, FreeRDP's RDPEAR NDR parser accepts one non-null NDR pointer ref-id for multiple logical pointer fields without tracking the pointed object's expected NDR type or ownership. When the same ref-id is reused across two pointer fields, the parser assigns the same heap object to both output fields. The generic destructor later walks each field independently and destroys/frees both pointers. This causes a malicious-server-triggerable heap use-after-free / double-free in the FreeRDP client's RDPEAR authentication-redirection path. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.26.0.

Published: 2026-05-29 Last update: 2026-06-01 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-44422 is rated Exploit Available (50.9/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.25%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2026-44422

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-44422

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 2026-06-15 0.05% 0.25% +0.20%
2 2026-06-04 0.05% 0.05% +0.00%
3 2026-05-30 0.05%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-44422

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.6 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-44422

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-44422

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-44422 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 2 source packages (freerdp2, freerdp3), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 3, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-44422
suse high https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44422/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-44422 medium priority: Ubuntu including 3 source packages (freerdp, freerdp2, freerdp3), 19 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 12, DNE 7. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-44422

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-44422

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
freerdp freerdp < 3.26.0 cpe:2.3:a:freerdp:freerdp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-44422

cvelogic Threat Intelligence