CVE-2026-42859: Neat VNC is a VNC server library. Prior to 0.9.6, a pre-authentication stack buffer overflow exists in neatvnc in the RSA-AES security type handler. A...

Description

Neat VNC is a VNC server library. Prior to 0.9.6, a pre-authentication stack buffer overflow exists in neatvnc in the RSA-AES security type handler. An unauthenticated remote attacker who can reach the VNC listening socket can send a crafted security type 5 (RSA-AES) or security type 129 (RSA-AES-256) handshake with an oversized client RSA public key, causing rsa_aes_send_challenge in src/auth/rsa-aes.c to overflow a 1024-byte on-stack buffer when encrypting the server challenge. This results in at least a denial of service via server crash. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.6.

Metrics

CVSS 4.0

8.1/10

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS Probability

0.55%

41.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-120

References

Timeline

Published: May 11, 2026
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Deferred

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42859?

Neat VNC is a VNC server library. Prior to 0.9.6, a pre-authentication stack buffer overflow exists in neatvnc in the RSA-AES security type handler. An unauthenticated remote attacker who can reach the VNC listening socket can send a crafted security type 5 (RSA-AES) or security type 129 (RSA-AES-256) handshake with an oversized client RSA public key, causing rsa_aes_send_challenge in src/auth/rsa-aes.c to overflow a 1024-byte on-stack buffer when encrypting the server challenge. This results in at least a denial of service via server crash. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.9.6.

How severe is CVE-2026-42859?

CVE-2026-42859 has a CVSS score of 8.1/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.55% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2026-42859?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.