Skip to main content
Mallory
High

Stack-based buffer overflow in X.Org X server and Xwayland CheckKeyTypes()

IdentifiersCVE-2026-50258CWE-121· Stack-based Buffer Overflow

CVE-2026-50258 is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the X.Org X server and Xwayland. The flaw is in XKB key type handling: multiple stack buffers are sized for XkbMaxShiftLevel * XkbNumKbdGroups, but CheckKeyTypes() does not verify or clamp non-canonical key types to XkbMaxShiftLevel. As a result, a malicious client can supply key types with excessive shift levels, causing writes past the bounds of stack-allocated buffers and triggering stack overflows. The issue is described as an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-26597. Affected versions are X.Org X server prior to 21.1.23 and Xwayland prior to 24.1.12.

Share:
For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.

ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

A malicious client can crash the X server or Xwayland process, resulting in denial of service. If the X server is running with root privileges, successful exploitation may also enable privilege escalation due to corruption of stack memory in the server process.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Until patches can be applied, reduce exposure by preventing untrusted local or remote clients from connecting to the X server, and avoid running the X server as root where possible. Restrict access to X11 sockets and other client connection paths to trusted users only, as exploitation requires a client able to submit crafted XKB data to the server.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade to fixed releases: xorg-server 21.1.23 or later and xwayland 24.1.12 or later. These vendor fixes address the improper handling of non-canonical key types in CheckKeyTypes() that led to the incomplete remediation of CVE-2025-26597.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
X.OrgX Serverapplication
X.OrgXwaylandapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

6 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.

No news coverage yet. Advisories and community discussion only.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity6

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.