CVE-2026-42478
Memory Safety in Opencascade Open Cascade Technology ≤ 7.9.3
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-42478 is a high-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Opencascade Open Cascade Technology. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked at the 13th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — 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-2026-42478 affects the VRML V2.0 parser in Open CASCADE Technology (OCCT) version V8_0_0_rc5, specifically in the VrmlData_IndexedFaceSet::TShape component within the libTKDEVRML.so library. The vulnerability arises from malformed VRML input that triggers a dereference of a corrupt or unvalidated pointer during shape construction, leading to a denial of service. It is linked to CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) and CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read), with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H), indicating high severity due to availability impact.
Attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network with low attack complexity, no required privileges, and no user interaction. By supplying a crafted VRML file to an application that processes VRML content using the affected OCCT parser, an attacker can cause a crash or resource exhaustion, resulting in denial of service on the targeted system.
Mitigation details are available in the referenced advisory at https://gist.github.com/sgInnora/dfba083d04906283e9c92aea78e2d94a.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-26601
Vulnerability Data
An issue was discovered in VrmlData_IndexedFaceSet::TShape in the VRML V2.0 parser in Open CASCADE Technology (OCCT) V8_0_0_rc5 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted VRML file. The issue occurs because malformed VRML input can trigger dereference…
more
of a corrupt or unvalidated pointer during shape construction in libTKDEVRML.so.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation (including static analysis) directly finds null-dereference bugs before deployment.
Documented development standards and tools can enforce null-safety rules and safe pointer usage.
Engineering principles can mandate defensive coding such as explicit null checks before dereference.
Process isolation confines the effects of an out-of-bounds read to the compromised process.
Input validation rejects malformed indices or lengths that would otherwise cause reads outside buffer bounds.
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.
Secure SDLC practices (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover instances of out-of-bounds reads after code is deployed.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing out-of-bounds read flaws.
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.
Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.
Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.
Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.
Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.
Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.
Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.