Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-21675 is a critical memory-safety flaw in iccDEV, a library/toolset for ICC color profiles. Affected versions before 2.3.1.1 can mishandle an internal hint object, creating use-after-free risk. Systems that process untrusted color profiles with iccDEV should be prioritized for upgrade.
Executive priority
Treat as urgent for environments processing externally supplied image or color-profile content. Prioritize asset discovery and upgrade because the score is critical and potential impact covers confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No evidence of active exploitation is provided.
Technical view
The advisory describes a use-after-free in CIccXform::Create() related to improper deletion of a hint manager object in iccDEV. The CVE lists CWE-416 and CWE-20, CVSS 9.8, network attack vector, no privileges, and no user interaction. Fixed version is 2.3.1.1; affected versions are below 2.3.1.1.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where iccDEV libraries or tools are embedded in applications, services, or pipelines that parse ICC color management profiles, especially if profiles can come from external or untrusted sources. The provided sources do not enumerate downstream products.
Exploitation context
No source provided indicates active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. The CVSS vector indicates low-complexity, unauthenticated, network-reachable potential impact, but public sources here do not provide weaponized exploit details.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record, GitHub advisory, issue, and fixing commit. The root cause is described as improper hint manager object deletion in CIccXform::Create(). Avoid assuming downstream product impact without confirming iccDEV is present and reachable through ICC profile parsing.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade iccDEV to version 2.3.1.1 or later.
- Identify products, services, and build pipelines that bundle iccDEV.
- Restrict processing of untrusted ICC profiles until upgraded.
- Monitor the GitHub advisory and vendor guidance for additional remediation notes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed or bundled iccDEV versions.
- Confirm affected instances are below 2.3.1.1.
- Review dependency manifests and packaged third-party libraries.
- Verify upgraded deployments report iccDEV 2.3.1.1 or later.
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-416: 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-2026-21675 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/security/advisories/GHSA-wcwx-794g-g78fCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/issues/182CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV/commit/510baf58fa48e00ebbb5dd577f0db4af8876bb31CVE 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.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.