CVE-2026-44988

LibVNCClient Tight Gradient decoding allows malicious server-triggered heap/stack OOB writes

HIGH
8.8
CVSS Score
Published: May 27, 2026 at 02:26 PM UTC
Updated: October 26, 2026 at 11:10 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLibvncserver

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Severity
HIGH8.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

LibVNCClient is a library for easy implementation of a VNC client. In 0.9.15 and earlier, LibVNCClient's Tight encoding decoder uses fixed-size 2048-pixel scratch buffers for the Gradient filter, but it does not reject Tight rectangles whose width is larger than 2048 pixels. A malicious VNC server can send a crafted FramebufferUpdate rectangle using Tight encoding with NoZlib | ExplicitFilter and the Gradient filter. When a LibVNCClient-based client connects, the client processes the server-controlled rectangle width and writes beyond fixed-size Gradient buffers. This vulnerability is fixed with commit 5b270544b85233668b98161323297d418a8f5fd1.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

8.8HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusAWAITING ANALYSIS
CWE
CWE-787

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