CVE-2023-42822VulnerabilityPublished 27 Sep 2023Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-42822: neutrinolabs xrdp · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects neutrinolabs xrdpSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.6 Medium : upgrade to 0.9.23.1 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.6Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 54% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 0.9.23.1

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 Sep 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade neutrinolabs/xrdp to 0.9.23.1.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubneutrinolabs/xrdp`pkg:github/neutrinolabs/xrdp`Other threats	Affected <0.9.23.1	Fixed in 0.9.23.1

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Upgrade xrdp to version 0.9.23.1 or later immediately to apply the official patch addressing this vulnerability. 2. If upgrading is not immediately possible, restrict access to xrdp servers using network-level controls such as firewalls or VPNs to limit exposure to trusted users only. 3. Enforce strong authentication mechanisms for xrdp sessions to reduce the risk of unauthorized access. 4. Monitor logs for unusual connection attempts or malformed font glyph data that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5. Consider running xrdp with the least privileges possible; on non-Debian systems, investigate options to drop root privileges after binding to necessary ports. 6. Employ intrusion detection systems (IDS) or endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to detect anomalous behavior related to xrdp processes. 7. Regularly audit and update all remote access infrastructure to ensure timely application of security patches. 8. Educate users about the risks of connecting to untrusted remote desktop servers and the importance of secure configurations.

Description

xrdp is an open source remote desktop protocol server. Access to the font glyphs in xrdp_painter.c is not bounds-checked . Since some of this data is controllable by the user, this can result in an out-of-bounds read within the xrdp executable. The vulnerability allows an out-of-bounds read within a potentially privileged process. On non-Debian platforms, xrdp tends to run as root. Potentially an out-of-bounds write can follow the out-of-bounds read. There is no denial-of-service impact, providing xrdp is running in forking mode. This issue has been addressed in release 0.9.23.1. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-42822 can be significant depending on the deployment context of xrdp. Since xrdp is commonly used to provide remote desktop access to Linux servers, often in enterprise and critical infrastructure environments, exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information or partial compromise of system integrity. The fact that xrdp often runs as root on non-Debian systems increases the risk of privilege escalation. Although the vulnerability does not directly enable remote code execution or denial-of-service, the out-of-bounds read and potential subsequent write could be leveraged by skilled attackers to further compromise affected systems. This is particularly concerning for sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and industrial control systems in Europe, where remote access solutions are prevalent. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the availability of a fix means organizations should not delay remediation. Failure to patch could expose organizations to targeted attacks, especially in geopolitical contexts where remote access tools are common attack vectors.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 20:22 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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