CVE-2026-50538

libvncclient Tight decoder has an attacker-controlled heap out-of-bounds write

HIGH
8.8
CVSS Score
Published: August 21, 2026 at 09:03 PM UTC
Updated: October 12, 2026 at 04:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLibvncserver

Using libvncserver by LibVNC?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect libvncserver - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
HIGH8.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.4%
SSVC
PoC

Description

LibVNCClient is a library for easy implementation of a VNC client. In versions 0.9.12 through 0.9.15, a malicious (or man-in-the-middle) VNC server can force a connecting `libvncclient` to write attacker-controlled data past the end of its framebuffer. This is an out-of-bounds heap write with attacker-controlled length, contents, and offset. It needs no authentication (the attacker is the server), works in a default build with default settings, and fires from a single `FramebufferUpdate` the moment the victim connects. It crashes any client unconditionally (denial of service); we also demonstrated it overwriting an application callback pointer and redirecting execution to attacker-chosen code (code execution) under the default configuration. Commit 540332be3e0acc566fa64da6f1b4680c72c724dd patches the issue.

Affected

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

>= 0.9.12, <= 0.9.15

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

SSVCPoCNot 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

StatusDEFERRED
CWE
CWE-122CWE-787

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card