Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-21676

Memory Safety in Color Iccdev ≤ 2.3.1.1

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
06 January 2026
Modified
12 January 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0035 28th percentile
Risk Priority 63 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-21676 is a high-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Color Iccdev. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 28th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-21676 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the CIccMBB::Validate function of iccDEV, a set of libraries and tools for working with ICC color management profiles. The flaw occurs during tag data validity checks and affects all versions 2.3.1 and below. It has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow).

A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability by tricking a user into processing a specially crafted ICC color profile, such as by opening a malicious image file in an application that uses iccDEV. Successful exploitation requires user interaction but no privileges, allowing the attacker to achieve high-impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability effects, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service on the affected system.

The issue was fixed in iccDEV version 2.3.1.1, as detailed in the project's GitHub security advisory (GHSA-j5vv-p2hv-c392), related issue tracker (#215), and the specific commit (e4c38a67d06073b38d58580b0cfc78ca61005f84). Security practitioners should advise updating to the patched version and auditing applications that parse ICC profiles for exposure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools for working with ICC color management profiles. Versions 2.3.1 and below have a Heap-based Buffer Overflow in its CIccMBB::Validate function which checks tag data validity. This issue is fixed in version 2.3.1.1.

CWE(s)
CWE-122

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-34539Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-34540Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-34534Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-34535Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-21682Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-24405Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-24406Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-24412Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-31796Same product: Color Iccdev
CVE-2026-21488Same product: Color Iccdev

Affected Assets

color
iccdev
≤ 2.3.1.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and memory-error detectors) can discover heap overflows after they have been coded.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation enforces bounds checking on data written to heap buffers, directly stopping the overflow condition from being introduced.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Security engineering principles require use of memory-safe constructs and bounds-checked allocation routines that avoid introducing heap overflows.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability of a heap overflow to execute attacker-controlled code or corrupt adjacent structures.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.

A.8.32 Change management none match
none

Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.

References