Rdesktop: Remote Control with Security Holes
Security researchers iDefense have disclosed three vulnerabilities in the Rdesktop Remote Client.
The Rdesktop RDP client has three different vulnerabilities that are open to remote code injection attacks.
The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) was created by Microsoft as a basis for terminal services and is also used for remote maintenance of computers.
The first vulnerability is hidden in the "iso.c" file. An integer underflow bug triggers a heap-based buffer overflow on processing manipulated RDP requests. An input validation error in "rdp.c" results in a BSS-based buffer overflow triggered by redirect requests, and an error in the "xrealloc()" function also leads to a heap-based buffer overflow .
According to iDenfense the errors affect Rdesktop version 1.5.0, which was released in September 2006. Earlier versions of the application may be affected. The Rdesktop developers have already removed the vulnerabilities on the CVS. Regular users are thus advised to build the RDP client from the current source code. Users who prefer to avoid the overhead, are advised to reject incoming offers of support from unknown sources.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.