CVE-2026-21490
📋 TL;DR
A heap buffer overflow vulnerability in iccDEV library's CIccTagLut16::Validate() function allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by processing malicious ICC color profiles. This affects all applications using iccDEV library versions before 2.3.1.2 for color management operations.
💻 Affected Systems
- iccDEV library
- Applications using iccDEV for ICC profile processing
📦 What is this software?
Iccdev by Color
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment
Likely Case
Application crash or denial of service affecting color processing functionality
If Mitigated
Contained application crash with no privilege escalation if proper sandboxing exists
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user or application to process a malicious ICC profile file
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.3.1.2
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/security/advisories/GHSA-9q9c-699q-xr2q
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Identify applications using iccDEV library. 2. Update iccDEV to version 2.3.1.2 or later. 3. Rebuild applications if statically linked. 4. Restart affected applications/services.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
No known workarounds
allThe vulnerability has no known workarounds according to the advisory
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict file uploads of ICC profiles to trusted sources only
- Implement application sandboxing to limit impact of potential exploitation
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if applications link to iccDEV library version < 2.3.1.2 using ldd (Linux) or dependency walker toolsCheck Version:
Check library version in build configuration or use package manager: dpkg -l | grep iccdev or rpm -qa | grep iccdevVerify Fix Applied:
Verify iccDEV version is 2.3.1.2 or later and applications have been rebuilt/restarted📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes during ICC profile processing
- Memory access violation errors in application logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual ICC profile file uploads to web applications
SIEM Query:
Application: (iccdev OR "ICC profile") AND Event: (crash OR "access violation" OR "buffer overflow")🔗 References
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/commit/7c2cb719a9de1c00844e457e070d657314383ee3
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/commit/e91fe722ac54ce497d410153e7405090e0565d7b
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/issues/397
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/security/advisories/GHSA-9q9c-699q-xr2q
