CVE-2026-109833
Description
A flaw was found in gnome-remote-desktop as shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux. In the VNC TLS read path, partial consumption of the internal peek buffer incorrectly moves remaining peeked bytes into the caller-supplied buffer instead of compacting the peek buffer. A remote attacker who can reach an enabled VNC TLS listener and trigger a peek/read size mismatch can cause an out-of-bounds write, leading to denial of service.
Statement
This vulnerability only affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux / CentOS builds of gnome-remote-desktop in the package version range >= 0.1.6-1 through <= 40.0-11 when the VNC service is enabled and the TLS path is used. The Moderate rating reflects that exploitation depends on a specific peek/read size relationship on the VNC TLS path; confidentiality and integrity impact are not established from the available evidence.
Mitigation
If VNC is not required, disable the gnome-remote-desktop VNC service. If it must remain enabled, restrict the VNC listener to trusted hosts or management networks using host-based firewall rules.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.9 | N/A | 5.9 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory)
Buffer overflows generally lead to crashes. Other attacks leading to lack of availability are possible, including putting the program into an infinite loop.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism
Buffer overflows often can be used to execute arbitrary code, which is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control,Other
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism; Other
When the consequence is arbitrary code execution, this can often be used to subvert any other security service.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Aisle Research for reporting this issue.
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