CVE-2026-21690VulnerabilityPublished 7 Jan 2026

CVE-2026-21690: InternationalColorConsortium iccDEV · Improper Input Validation

Affects InternationalColorConsortium iccDEVSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.3 Medium : upgrade to 2.3.1.2 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 14% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 2.3.1.2

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 7 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade iccDEV and internationalcolorconsortium/iccDEV to 2.3.1.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
InternationalColorConsortiumiccDEV	Affected <2.3.1.2	Fixed in 2.3.1.2
GitHubinternationalcolorconsortium/iccDEV`pkg:github/internationalcolorconsortium/iccDEV`Other threats	Affected <2.3.1.2	Fixed in 2.3.1.2

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

The primary mitigation is to upgrade all instances of the iccDEV library to version 2.3.1.2 or later, where the vulnerability is patched. Organizations should audit their software supply chain to identify any dependencies on iccDEV, including third-party imaging or color management tools. Implement strict validation and sanitization of ICC profiles before processing, especially those received from untrusted or external sources. Employ application whitelisting and sandboxing for software handling ICC profiles to limit the impact of potential exploitation. Monitor logs and network traffic for unusual activity related to image processing workflows. Educate users about the risks of opening or importing untrusted ICC profiles, particularly in email attachments or downloads. Finally, coordinate with software vendors to ensure timely patching and vulnerability disclosure.

Description

iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools that allow for the interaction, manipulation, and application of International Color Consortium (ICC) color management profiles. Versions prior to 2.3.1.2 have a Type Confusion vulnerability in `CIccTagXmlTagData::ToXml()`. This vulnerability affects users of the iccDEV library who process ICC color profiles. Version 2.3.1.2 contains a patch. No known workarounds are available.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact depends largely on their use of iccDEV or software that incorporates it for color profile management, such as digital imaging, printing, publishing, and graphic design industries. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive image data, corruption of color profiles affecting output integrity, or denial of service in critical imaging workflows. This could disrupt production pipelines, cause financial losses, or damage reputations. Since the vulnerability requires user interaction (processing a crafted ICC profile), phishing or supply chain attacks could be vectors. Organizations relying on automated image processing or accepting ICC profiles from external sources are at higher risk. The medium severity rating indicates a moderate risk, but the lack of known exploits suggests immediate widespread impact is limited. However, given the strategic importance of media and design sectors in countries like Germany, France, and the UK, the threat warrants attention.

CWE-20Improper Input Validation (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #18OWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Attack Surface Reduction
Consider using language-theoretic security (LangSec) techniques that characterize inputs using a formal language and build "recognizers" for that language. This effectively requires parsing to be a distinct layer that effectively enforces a boundary between raw input and internal data representations, instead of…
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use an input validation framework such as Struts or the OWASP ESAPI Validation API. Note that using a framework does not automatically address all input validation problems; be mindful of weaknesses that could arise from misusing the framework itself (CWE-1173).
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Understand all the potential areas where untrusted inputs can enter the product, including but not limited to: parameters or arguments, cookies, anything read from the network, environment variables, reverse DNS lookups, query results, request headers, URL components, e-mail, files, filenames, databases, and any…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables (opens in a new tab)
Server Side Include (SSI) Injection (opens in a new tab)
Cross Zone Scripting (opens in a new tab)
Command Line Execution through SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
Object Relational Mapping Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-457Use of Uninitialized Variable (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: High
The code uses a variable that has not been initialized, leading to unpredictable or unintended results.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Ensure that critical variables are initialized before first use.
Build and Compilation · Compilation or Build Hardening
Most compilers will complain about the use of uninitialized variables if warnings are turned on.
Implementation · Operation
When using a language that does not require explicit declaration of variables, run or compile the software in a mode that reports undeclared or unknown variables. This may indicate the presence of a typographic error in the variable's name.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-475Undefined Behavior for Input to API (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The behavior of this function is undefined unless its control parameter is set to a specific value.

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Jan 2026, 23:48 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-20, CWE-457, CWE-475

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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