How severe is CVE-2023-40589?

CVE-2023-40589 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability low.

Is CVE-2023-40589 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (64th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-40589?

CVE-2023-40589 primarily affects Freerdp. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-40589?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2023-40589 published?

CVE-2023-40589 was published on 2023-08-31 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-40589

CVE-2023-40589 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Freerdp with a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-120.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 4.3)
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (64th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-120
Affected product: Freerdp
Published: 2023-08-31
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), released under the Apache license. In affected versions there is a Global-Buffer-Overflow in the ncrush_decompress function. Feeding crafted input into this function can trigger the overflow which has only been shown to cause a crash. This issue has been addressed in versions 2.11.0 and 3.0.0-beta3. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-40589?: FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), released under the Apache license. In affected versions there is a Global-Buffer-Overflow in the ncrush_decompress function. Feeding crafted input into this function can trigger the overflow which has only been shown to cause a crash. This issue has been addressed in versions 2.11.0 and 3.0.0-beta3. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this issue.
How severe is CVE-2023-40589?: CVE-2023-40589 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability low.
Is CVE-2023-40589 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (64th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-40589?: CVE-2023-40589 primarily affects Freerdp. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-40589?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2023-40589 published?: CVE-2023-40589 was published on 2023-08-31 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (7)

cpe:2.3:a:freerdp:freerdp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:freerdp:freerdp:3.0.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:freerdp:freerdp:3.0.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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