CVE-2022-23479
xrdp vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

xrdp, an open source project that provides graphical login to remote machines using Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), was found to contain a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in versions prior to 0.9.21. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2022-23479, was discovered in the xrdp_mm_chan_data_in() function and was disclosed on December 9, 2022 (GitHub Advisory).

Technical details

The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (Critical), with the following metrics: Attack Vector: Network, Attack Complexity: Low, Privileges Required: None, User Interaction: None, Scope: Unchanged, Confidentiality: None, Integrity: High, Availability: High. The vulnerability manifests as a buffer overflow condition in the xrdp_mm_chan_data_in() function (GitHub Advisory).

Impact

The vulnerability could lead to out-of-bounds reads, potentially allowing attackers to crash the program or extract sensitive information. The high integrity and availability impact scores indicate that successful exploitation could result in significant system compromise (Ubuntu Notice).

Exploitability

The vulnerability is considered highly exploitable due to its network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no requirements for privileges or user interaction. The remote nature of the vulnerability makes it particularly concerning for systems exposed to untrusted networks (GitHub Advisory).

Mitigation and workarounds

The vulnerability has been fixed in xrdp version 0.9.21. Various Linux distributions have released security updates to address this issue: Ubuntu has released updates for versions 14.04 through 22.04, Debian has patched the vulnerability in version 0.9.21.1-1~deb11u1 for the oldstable distribution (bullseye) (Debian Advisory, Ubuntu Notice).

Additional resources


SourceThis report was generated using AI

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