CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2018-20177 — Rdesktop Rdesktop security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

rdesktop versions up to and including v1.8.3 contain an Integer Overflow that leads to a Heap-Based Buffer Overflow in the function rdp_in_unistr() and results in memory corruption and possibly even a remote code execution.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Published
2019-03-15
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-190, CWE-787

Affected products

  • rdesktop / rdesktop
  • debian / debian_linux / 8.0
  • debian / debian_linux / 9.0
  • opensuse / backports / sle-15
  • opensuse / leap / 15.1

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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