CVE-2026-21505 is a vulnerability in the InternationalColorConsortium's iccDEV library, which provides tools and libraries for interacting with ICC color management profiles. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation (CWE-20) and specifically relates to handling invalid enum values, which leads to undefined behavior (CWE-843). This can cause the application or system using iccDEV to crash or become unavailable, resulting in a denial of service condition. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5 (medium), reflecting that the attack vector is local (AV:L), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges (PR:N), but does require user interaction (UI:R). The scope is unchanged, and the impact is limited to availability (A:H), with no confidentiality or integrity impact. The vulnerability affects all versions of iccDEV prior to 2.3.1.2, where the issue has been fixed. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time. The vulnerability is relevant for environments that process ICC profiles, such as digital imaging, printing, and color management applications, where malformed or maliciously crafted ICC profiles could trigger the issue.

For European organizations, the primary impact is potential denial of service in systems that utilize iccDEV for ICC profile processing. This could disrupt workflows in industries such as digital media production, printing, graphic design, and photography, where color accuracy and profile management are critical. While confidentiality and integrity are not affected, availability interruptions could delay production timelines or cause service outages in color management pipelines. Organizations relying on automated processing of ICC profiles or integrating iccDEV into larger software stacks may experience crashes or instability if exposed to crafted profiles. The impact is localized to systems where iccDEV is deployed and where untrusted ICC profiles might be processed, which may include desktop applications, servers handling image processing, or print production environments.

European organizations should immediately upgrade iccDEV to version 2.3.1.2 or later to apply the patch that addresses this vulnerability. Additionally, implement strict input validation and sanitization of ICC profiles before processing them with iccDEV to reduce the risk of malformed data triggering undefined behavior. Restrict the sources of ICC profiles to trusted origins and avoid processing profiles from unverified or external sources. Employ application-level sandboxing or containerization for processes handling ICC profiles to contain potential crashes and limit impact on broader systems. Monitor logs and application behavior for signs of crashes or instability related to ICC profile processing. Finally, maintain an inventory of software components using iccDEV to ensure timely patch management and vulnerability tracking.