Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
VLC for Android before 3.7.0 can let a network-reachable attacker bypass the Remote Access one-time password by repeated guessing. The business impact is unauthorized access to the VLC Remote Access interface, limited to media files the user explicitly shared.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate privacy and data-exposure issue. Prioritize updates for users who enable VLC Remote Access on shared, guest, or untrusted networks, especially where shared media could contain sensitive content.
Technical view
The Remote Access Server uses a 4-digit OTP without effective throttling or lockout during the OTP validity window. An unauthenticated network attacker can repeatedly attempt verification until a valid user_session cookie is issued. The weakness is CWE-307 and is scored CVSS 4.0 6.3.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to Android devices running VLC before 3.7.0 with Remote Access Server enabled and reachable over a network. Systems without the feature enabled or without network reachability are not indicated as exposed.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires network reachability to the Remote Access Server and an active OTP validity window; impact is access to explicitly shared media only.
Researcher notes
The central control failure is missing effective rate limiting or lockout for a short 4-digit OTP. Evidence supports authentication bypass to a session cookie, but not broader device compromise, arbitrary file access, or active exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade VLC for Android to version 3.7.0 or later where applicable.
- Check VideoLAN guidance for current fixed versions and update channels.
- Disable Remote Access Server if it is not required.
- Avoid exposing Remote Access Server to untrusted networks.
- Limit shared media to files intended for remote access.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Android devices with VLC installed and record application versions.
- Identify whether Remote Access Server is enabled on each device.
- Confirm reachable devices are running VLC for Android 3.7.0 or later.
- Review which media files are explicitly shared through VLC Remote Access.
- Check available device or application logs for unexpected remote access activity.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-307: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-26227 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.3 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N2.21.4VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
6.3MediumVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.7LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-android.htmlCVE reference, VulnCheck · product
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vlc-for-android-remote-access-otp-authentication-bypassCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.