Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-21498 is a crash vulnerability in iccDEV, a toolkit for ICC color profile handling. Versions before 2.3.1.2 can dereference a NULL pointer in the XML calculator parser. The main business impact is availability: a user-assisted local action could crash affected software. The vendor reports it is patched in 2.3.1.2.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate availability risk. It is not described as remotely exploitable or actively exploited in the provided sources, but teams using iccDEV should patch during normal maintenance, faster where file-processing reliability is business-critical.
Technical view
The issue is a NULL pointer dereference in iccDEV’s XML calculator parser, mapped to CWE-20, CWE-252, CWE-476, and CWE-690. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5, vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Affected product is InternationalColorConsortium iccDEV before 2.3.1.2. Public references include the GitHub advisory, issue, pull request, and fixing commits.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to systems, applications, or pipelines that include iccDEV before 2.3.1.2 and process XML calculator-related input. The CVSS vector indicates local access and user interaction are required. Network-exposed exploitation is not indicated by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and this CVE is not marked KEV. The practical risk is denial of service through a crash when affected parsing functionality is reached. No confidentiality or integrity impact is indicated in the CVSS data.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies the fix as version 2.3.1.2 and links to GitHub issue 375, pull request 404, and two commits. Analysis should focus on reachable XML calculator parser code paths in products embedding iccDEV. Avoid inferring broader product exposure without dependency evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade iccDEV to version 2.3.1.2 or later.
- Prioritize systems that process untrusted ICC or XML-related input.
- If upgrade timing is unclear, check the GitHub advisory for current vendor guidance.
- Limit use of affected parsing workflows until upgraded where operationally feasible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory applications, build dependencies, and tools that include iccDEV.
- Confirm whether any installed or vendored iccDEV version is below 2.3.1.2.
- Identify workflows that invoke the XML calculator parser.
- Verify upgraded deployments report iccDEV 2.3.1.2 or later.
- Review crash reports for affected components, without assuming exploitation.
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-20: 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 lookupCWE-252: 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 lookupCWE-476: 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 lookupCWE-690: 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 lookupCVE-2026-21498 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
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/security/advisories/GHSA-6822-qvxq-m736CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/issues/375CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/pull/404CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/commit/75f124f40ba45491211cb4b67f0e05b7c7d59553CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/commit/bdfa31940726aaabb0a6f19194d9062ba0598959CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.