CVE-2026-22046
Published: 07 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-22046 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Color Iccdev. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 33.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 RA-5 (Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Requires timely identification, reporting, and patching of flaws like the heap-buffer-overflow in iccDEV, directly enabling upgrade to the fixed version 2.3.1.2.
Implements memory protection mechanisms such as ASLR and DEP to mitigate exploitation of heap buffer overflows during ICC profile parsing.
Mandates vulnerability scanning to identify systems using vulnerable iccDEV library versions prior to exploitation via crafted ICC profiles.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Heap buffer overflow in ICC profile parser enables client-side arbitrary code execution via malicious file opened by victim (T1204.002), directly mapping to exploitation for client execution (T1203).
NVD Description
iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools that allow for the interaction, manipulation, and application of International Color Consortium (ICC) color management profiles. Versions prior to 2.3.1.2 have a heap-buffer-overflow vulnerability in `CIccProfileXml::ParseBasic()` at `IccXML/IccLibXML/IccProfileXml.cpp`. This vulnerability affects users…
more
of the iccDEV library who process ICC color profiles. Version 2.3.1.2 contains a patch. No known workarounds are available.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-22046 is a heap-buffer-overflow vulnerability in the iccDEV library, a set of tools and libraries for interacting with, manipulating, and applying International Color Consortium (ICC) color management profiles. The flaw resides in the `CIccProfileXml::ParseBasic()` function at `IccXML/IccLibXML/IccProfileXml.cpp` and affects all versions prior to 2.3.1.2. It impacts any applications or users of the iccDEV library that process ICC color profiles, potentially leading to memory corruption during parsing.
Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability by inducing a victim to process a specially crafted ICC color profile, as indicated by the CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). No privileges are required, but user interaction is necessary, such as opening a malicious file in a supporting application. Successful exploitation could result in high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts, including arbitrary code execution, data disclosure, or system crashes. The issue maps to multiple CWEs, including CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-843 (Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type), and others related to improper input validation.
Mitigation is available via an upgrade to iccDEV version 2.3.1.2, which includes a patch for the vulnerability. No workarounds are known. Relevant advisories and fixes are documented in the project's GitHub security advisory (GHSA-7v4q-mhr2-hj7r), issue tracker (#448), and pull request (#451). Security practitioners should scan dependencies for vulnerable iccDEV versions and advise clients handling ICC profiles to update promptly.
Details
- CWE(s)