Rocky Linux 10 — freerdp — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide

📖 ~4 min read  •  Source: Rocky Linux RXSA RLSA-2026:8458

Related CVEs: CVE-2026-33983 CVE-2026-33984 CVE-2026-22852 CVE-2026-22854 CVE-2026-22856 CVE-2026-23732 CVE-2026-23948 CVE-2026-24491  +12 more

Upstream summary: FreeRDP is a free implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), released under the Apache license. The xfreerdp client can connect to RDP servers such as Microsoft Windows machines, xrdp, and VirtualBox.

Security Fix(es):

* FreeRDP: FreeRDP: Heap buffer overflow allows arbitrary code execution via crafted pixel data (CVE-2026-33984)

* FreeRDP: FreeRDP: Denial of Service via specially crafted Remote Desktop Protocol messages (CVE-2026-33983)

For more details about t

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

Exploitation of freerdp is user-driven: the danger arrives when someone opens a hostile page, message or attachment, so exposure sits on each Rocky Linux 10 workstation rather than on any serving path. Desktop sessions run for weeks, and the package manager only replaces files on disk — a freerdp process started before the update keeps the old code mapped until the user quits and relaunches it. Consequences are local: theft of saved credentials and session cookies, access to the user’s profile data under $HOME, and code execution as the logged-in account. freerdp is a graphical application launched by a user from their desktop session, not a system service: there is no unit to restart, and systemctl or journalctl will report nothing for it.

Environment & Reproduction

Reproduction targets Rocky Linux 10. Confirm release and the installed package:

cat /etc/rocky-release
cat /etc/os-release
rpm -q freerdp
dnf info freerdp | head -20

Exercise the workload that uses freerdp while collecting:

sudo journalctl -xe --no-pager | tail -200
sudo tail -200 /var/log/dnf.log
sudo tail -200 /var/log/audit/audit.log
# For an evidence bundle bundle with sosreport:
sudo sosreport --batch

Root Cause Analysis

Root cause is documented in Rocky Linux RXSA RLSA-2026:8458. Rocky Linux / Red Hat maintainers shipped fixes in the corresponding freerdp update for Rocky Linux 10; running an outdated build leaves the host exposed to the failure modes described in the advisory. Correlate dnf history with system logs:

sudo dnf history | head
sudo dnf history list freerdp
sudo dnf history info <id>
sudo ausearch -m AVC,USER_AVC -ts today | tail -100
cat /proc/sys/kernel/tainted   # non-zero = tainted kernel / out-of-tree modules

Quick Triage

Run these on Rocky Linux 10 to capture the current state of freerdp:

rpm -q freerdp                              # installed NVR
rpm -V freerdp                              # verify shipped files
sudo dnf check-update --security
sudo dnf updateinfo list cves
systemctl --failed --no-pager
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
getenforce && sestatus
dnf repoquery -l freerdp 2>/dev/null | grep -E '/lib/systemd/system/.*\.(service|socket|timer)$'  # same check WITHOUT installing (EL7/Amazon Linux 2: yum install yum-utils, then: repoquery -l freerdp)
systemctl show --no-pager -p Type,RemainAfterExit <UNIT>  # Type=oneshot (often paired with a .timer) means a one-shot job, NOT a daemon -- do not 'restart' it, let the timer fire

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

1. List failed systemd units.

   systemctl --failed --no-pager

2. Tail the journal for freerdp and the system bus.

   sudo journalctl -xe -f --no-pager

3. Inspect firewall posture.

   sudo firewall-cmd --list-all-zones --permanent
   sudo nft list ruleset 2>/dev/null | head -50

4. Surface SELinux denials and author a local policy module if needed.

   sudo ausearch -m AVC,USER_AVC -ts today
   sudo ausearch -m AVC -ts today | audit2allow -a -M /tmp/local-fix
   sudo semodule -i /tmp/local-fix.pp

5. Verify freerdp integrity and reinstall if anything is altered.

   sudo rpm -V freerdp
   sudo dnf reinstall freerdp

6. Correlate findings with /var/log/dnf.log, dnf history, and Rocky Linux RXSA RLSA-2026:8458 to pin the change that introduced the regression.

Solution – Primary Fix

Apply the corrective dnf transaction referenced by Rocky Linux RXSA RLSA-2026:8458, then reload affected systemd units:

sudo dnf -y makecache
sudo dnf -y upgrade --security              # apply ALL security errata (recommended)
# Or target a single package:
sudo dnf -y upgrade freerdp
# Unit name may differ from pkg name; check first:
rpm -q freerdp                                # confirm new NVR

For kernel / glibc / systemd / openssl advisories a reboot is required (or kpatch where licensed):

sudo needs-restarting -r                    # report whether reboot needed
sudo systemctl reboot                       # or: sudo shutdown -r now
# kpatch (Red Hat / Oracle) avoids reboot for many kernel CVEs:
sudo dnf install -y kpatch kpatch-dnf
sudo dnf kpatch auto                        # enable auto-patching
sudo kpatch list

Solution – Alternative Approaches

If the primary patch is not viable, choose from these:

• Roll back the offending dnf transaction:

  sudo dnf history list | head
  sudo dnf history info <id>
  sudo dnf history undo <id>

• Version-lock the package so dnf cannot upgrade it:

  sudo dnf install -y python3-dnf-plugin-versionlock
  sudo dnf versionlock add freerdp
  sudo dnf versionlock list
  sudo dnf versionlock delete freerdp      # remove the lock

• Install an older NVR if a regression is suspected:

  dnf --showduplicates list freerdp | tac | head
  sudo dnf install -y --allowerasing freerdp-<older-NVR>

• Switch SELinux to permissive briefly to confirm policy is the cause, then re-enforce:

  sudo setenforce 0
  # reproduce, capture denials, author a custom module:
  sudo ausearch -m AVC -ts recent | audit2allow -a -M mylocal
  sudo semodule -i mylocal.pp
  sudo setenforce 1

• Take an LVM snapshot before kernel / glibc upgrades for fast rollback:

  sudo lvs
  sudo lvcreate -s -n preupgrade -L 4G /dev/<vg>/<lv>
  # revert later via:
  sudo lvconvert --merge /dev/<vg>/preupgrade && sudo systemctl reboot

• Where kpatch is licensed, apply kernel fixes without reboot:

  sudo kpatch list
  sudo kpatch load /usr/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/extra/kpatch/*.ko

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

All of these should pass after the fix:

rpm -q freerdp                                            # expected fixed NVR
sudo dnf updateinfo list cves --installed               # CVEs above no longer listed
sudo firewall-cmd --list-services
getenforce
sudo needs-restarting -r

The conditions described in the advisory must no longer be reported for freerdp across two consecutive runs.

Rollback Plan

Capture state before any change:

rpm -qa > /root/rpm-pre.txt
sudo dnf history list > /root/dnf-history-pre.txt
# Optional LVM snapshot of the root LV:
sudo lvcreate -s -n preupgrade -L 4G /dev/<vg>/<lv>

To revert if the patch is bad:

sudo dnf history undo <id>
# Or downgrade just the package:
sudo dnf install -y --allowerasing freerdp-<older-NVR>
# Or merge the LVM snapshot and reboot:
sudo lvconvert --merge /dev/<vg>/preupgrade && sudo systemctl reboot
# Custom SELinux policy cleanup:
sudo semodule -r mylocal

Prevention & Hardening

Reduce the chance of this recurring on Rocky Linux 10:

• Enable automatic security patching:

  sudo dnf install -y dnf-automatic
  sudo sed -i 's/^upgrade_type.*/upgrade_type = security/' /etc/dnf/automatic.conf
  sudo sed -i 's/^apply_updates.*/apply_updates = yes/' /etc/dnf/automatic.conf
  sudo systemctl enable --now dnf-automatic.timer

• Subscribe to rocky-announce and watch Red Hat security updates for upstream changes.

• Mirror through a local Pulp / Foreman / Spacewalk-style repo for controlled rollouts:

  sudo dnf install -y dnf-utils createrepo_c
  sudo reposync --download-metadata --downloadcomps -p /srv/mirror -- repoid=baseos
  sudo createrepo_c /srv/mirror/baseos

• Version-lock sensitive packages so they cannot be auto-upgraded:

  sudo dnf install -y python3-dnf-plugin-versionlock
  sudo dnf versionlock add freerdp

• Monitor file integrity with AIDE:

  sudo dnf install -y aide
  sudo aide --init && sudo mv /var/lib/aide/aide.db.new.gz /var/lib/aide/aide.db.gz
  sudo aide --check

• Enable kpatch so kernel CVEs can be remediated without reboot:

  sudo dnf install -y kpatch kpatch-dnf
  sudo dnf kpatch auto
  sudo kpatch list

• Keep SELinux in enforcing mode and review custom modules in /etc/selinux/targeted/ after every package upgrade.

• Apply CIS Rocky Linux 10 Benchmark hardening and remove unused packages.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Issues that commonly surface alongside a freerdp update: dnf lock contention, systemd unit ordering cycles, SELinux AVC bursts, firewalld zone drift, and kernel taint flags. Useful triage:

sudo dnf check
systemd-analyze critical-chain
sudo ausearch -m AVC -ts today | tail
sudo firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
cat /proc/sys/kernel/tainted
sudo needs-restarting -r

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References & Further Reading

Primary reference: Rocky Linux RXSA RLSA-2026:8458. Manual pages useful on Rocky Linux 10:

man dnf
man dnf.conf
man systemctl
man journalctl
man firewall-cmd
man semanage
man audit2allow
man kpatch
man sosreport

Other resources: docs.rockylinux.org, Red Hat CVE database, Rocky Linux errata, and per-package notes in /usr/share/doc/freerdp/ for components implicated in this advisory.

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