CVE-2025-53011 is a vulnerability identified in the AcademySoftwareFoundation's MaterialX library, specifically affecting versions from 1.39.2 up to but not including 1.39.3. MaterialX is an open standard widely used for exchanging rich material and look-development content across various applications and rendering engines in the visual effects and animation industries. The vulnerability arises from a NULL pointer dereference (CWE-476) in the MaterialXCore code during the parsing of shader nodes within MTLX files. When a maliciously crafted MTLX file is processed, the software attempts to access a pointer that may be NULL, leading to a crash of the target program. This type of flaw can be exploited by an attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) by intentionally triggering application crashes. The vulnerability does not require authentication, user interaction, or network access since the attack vector is a crafted file input. The issue was resolved in version 1.39.3 of MaterialX. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 2, indicating a low severity, primarily due to the limited impact (denial of service only) and the requirement for local file input. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential for denial of service in software environments that utilize MaterialX for material and shader data exchange. This could disrupt workflows in industries such as film production, animation studios, and visual effects houses that rely on MaterialX for look development and rendering pipelines. While the vulnerability does not lead to code execution or data leakage, repeated crashes could delay production schedules and increase operational costs. Organizations that integrate MaterialX into proprietary or third-party tools may experience instability if malicious or corrupted MTLX files are introduced, either accidentally or intentionally. The impact is limited to the availability of the affected software components and does not compromise confidentiality or integrity. Given the niche application domain, the threat is more relevant to creative and media sectors rather than general IT infrastructure.

European organizations using MaterialX should immediately upgrade to version 1.39.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability. In addition, implement strict validation and sanitization of all MTLX files before they are processed by any software component. Establish file integrity checks and restrict the sources from which MTLX files can be imported, especially in collaborative environments. Employ sandboxing or containerization techniques for rendering or look-development applications to contain potential crashes and prevent broader system impact. Regularly audit and monitor application logs for unexpected crashes or errors related to shader node parsing. Finally, maintain an up-to-date inventory of software dependencies to ensure timely application of security patches.