Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach network-exposed Qt VNC Server
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DeliveryConnect with modified RFB client
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ExploitSend protocol-violating handshake
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ExecutionBypass password authentication
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ImpactAccess and control shared application session
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Alternate path authentication
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires (1) a reachable instance of the Qt VNC Server module actively sharing an application session, (2) that instance configured to use Qt VNC Server's built-in password authentication (the mechanism being bypassed), and (3) an attacker-controlled VNC client modified to violate the RFB protocol during the handshake. The CVSS AT:P and UI:A metrics indicate the attack depends on an active/shared session condition rather than working against an idle default, which is the primary limiting factor; no valid credentials are needed (PR:N). Impact is confined to the shared application session (VC:H/VI:H) with no availability effect (VA:N). |
| Impact | This is a genuine but conditional MEDIUM-risk flaw, not a drop-everything priority. The Qt-supplied CVSS 4.0 base score is 4.5, and the vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N) indicates a remote, unauthenticated attack with high confidentiality and integrity impact but no availability impact. Two factors deliberately hold the score down: AT:P signals a specific attack requirement (an active, shared VNC session the attacker can reach), and the temporal metric E:U (Exploit Unproven) reflects that no working exploit is known - consistent with the absence of any POC. There is no EPSS score and no CISA KEV listing, so there is no external signal of active or automated exploitation; SSVC-style reasoning would put exploitation at 'none' and automatable at 'no' given the required active session and bespoke protocol-violating client. In short: a real authentication-bypass primitive with high per-session impact, but gated by a non-trivial precondition and no evidence of exploitation in the wild. The base score comes from the vendor's own 4.0 assessment; note the 4.5 figure blends in the E:U temporal downgrade, so the underlying base severity of an auth bypass yielding VC:H/VI:H is effectively higher than 4.5 suggests - treat the number cautiously. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker on the network points a specially modified VNC client at a device running Qt's VNC Server, sending RFB handshake messages that deviate from the protocol to skip the password-authentication step entirely. With authentication bypassed, the attacker gains view-and-control access to the shared Qt application, reading its displayed data and injecting input. No public exploit code is currently identified, and the attack requires an active shared session to target. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 24, 2026
Authentication bypass in the Qt VNC Server module allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to join a shared application session without knowing the configured VNC password by connecting with a modified client that violates the RFB protocol during the handshake, exposing the confidentiality and integrity of the shared session (no availability impact, VA:N). Exposure is conditional: a reachable Qt VNC Server instance must be actively sharing an application session and using the module's built-in password authentication, which is why the independent assessment rates this a genuine but conditional MEDIUM risk (assessed CVSS 3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R, C:H/I:H/A:N) rather than an urgent one. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis (CVSS 4.0 E:U, no CISA KEV listing), and a vendor fix is available.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor fix for the Qt VNC Server module: patch availability is confirmed by the vendor (Qt), and the referenced fix is code-review change 759160 for tqtc-qtvncserver at https://codereview.qt-project.org/c/qt/tqtc-qtvncserver/+/759160, with advisory context at https://wiki.qt.io/List_of_known_vulnerabilities_in_Qt_products#CVE-2026-79680; the supplied data does not include a separately tagged released version number, so confirm the exact patched build with Qt before relying on it. If the fix cannot be deployed immediately, reduce exposure by not enabling or starting the Qt VNC Server module on untrusted networks (trade-off: loss of remote session-sharing functionality), and by restricting the VNC listener port (conventionally 5900/tcp or the configured port) to trusted hosts via host firewall or network segmentation, or binding the listener to loopback and tunnelling access over SSH/VPN (trade-off: additional setup and limited reach for legitimate users). Note that disabling the built-in password authentication is not a sound mitigation because that mechanism is precisely what the bypass defeats. Because a successful bypass generates no failed-authentication event, monitor for accepted VNC sessions that lack a completed authentication exchange and treat VNC traffic as untrusted wherever the flaw remains unpatched.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Qt VNC Server (the tqtc-qtvncserver component, tracked under the version-agnostic CPE cpe:2.3:a:qt:qt:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) implements the server side of the Remote Framebuffer (RFB) protocol so a Qt application session can be shared with VNC clients. Before a session is granted, RFB requires a handshake in which the server advertises supported security/authentication types and, for classic VNC authentication, the client completes a DES challenge-response using the password. CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel) indicates the root cause is a handshake state-machine weakness: the server does not enforce that the password exchange completes before entering the shared session, so a non-conforming client can take an alternate path to the session. The CVSS 4.0 vector's AT:P and UI:A metrics capture the situational prerequisites (an actively shared session and the attacker-supplied modified client) while PR:N confirms no valid credentials are needed; the independent assessment scopes impact to the shared session only (C:H/I:H, VA:N).
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/V:D/RE:L
Remote and unauthenticated (AV:N/PR:N); AC:H and UI:R capture the required active shared session and bespoke RFB-violating client (mapping 4.0's AT:P/UI:A); full session read/write, no availability loss.
Primary rating from Vendor (Qt).
CVSS VectorVendor: Qt
DescriptionCVE.org
Authentication bypass vulnerability in the password authentication mechanism of the Qt VNC Server module. An attacker using a specially modified VNC client that violates the RFB protocol can bypass Qt VNC Server's password authentication and gain unauthorized remote access to the shared application, compromising the confidentiality and integrity of the session.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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EUVD-2026-85846
GHSA-wc8f-vjgx-jxrw
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB