CVE-2026-34555: iccDEV Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2026-34555 Overview

CVE-2026-34555 is a stack-buffer-overflow vulnerability affecting iccDEV, a library and toolset used for working with ICC color management profiles. Prior to version 2.3.1.6, the CIccTagFixedNum<>::GetValues() function contains a memory corruption flaw that allows attackers to overflow a stack variable, potentially leading to denial of service conditions when processing maliciously crafted ICC profile data.

Critical Impact

This stack-buffer-overflow can cause application crashes and denial of service when processing specially crafted ICC color profile files, affecting any software that relies on iccDEV for color management operations.

Affected Products

• iccDEV versions prior to 2.3.1.6
• Applications and libraries that depend on iccDEV for ICC profile processing
• Systems processing untrusted ICC color profile files

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-31 - CVE-2026-34555 published to NVD
• 2026-04-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-34555

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow), a memory corruption vulnerability that occurs when data is written beyond the boundaries of a stack-allocated buffer. The flaw exists in the CIccTagFixedNum<>::GetValues() function within the iccDEV library.

AddressSanitizer analysis reveals a WRITE operation of size 4 that overflows a 4-byte stack variable named rv. The overflow occurs through the call chain CIccTagFixedNum::GetValues() → CIccTagStruct::GetElemNumberValue(). This vulnerability chain involves multiple related issues as documented across several GitHub issues (#696, #697, #698, #703).

The vulnerability requires local access to exploit, meaning an attacker would need to provide a malicious ICC profile file to the target system. When processed by vulnerable iccDEV code, this can result in a high availability impact through application crashes.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper bounds checking in the CIccTagFixedNum<>::GetValues() function when handling ICC profile tag data. The function fails to validate the size of data being written to the stack-allocated rv variable, allowing a 4-byte overflow when processing specially crafted ICC profile structures.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local, requiring an attacker to deliver a malicious ICC color profile file to a system running software that uses the vulnerable iccDEV library. Attack scenarios include:

• Embedding malicious ICC profiles in image files processed by applications using iccDEV
• Direct processing of crafted ICC profile files by color management utilities
• Import of documents or media containing embedded malicious color profiles

The vulnerability exploitation requires no privileges and no user interaction beyond processing the malicious file. Successful exploitation results in denial of service through application crashes.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-34555

Indicators of Compromise

• Application crashes when processing ICC color profile files with stack corruption signatures
• AddressSanitizer reports indicating stack-buffer-overflow in CIccTagFixedNum or CIccTagStruct functions
• Abnormal ICC profile files with malformed tag structures being processed by systems

Detection Strategies

• Deploy memory safety tools such as AddressSanitizer (ASan) in development and testing environments to detect exploitation attempts
• Monitor application crash logs for patterns indicating stack corruption in iccDEV-related functions
• Implement file integrity monitoring on ICC profile processing pipelines to detect anomalous profile structures

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable crash dump collection for applications utilizing iccDEV to capture forensic evidence of exploitation attempts
• Monitor system logs for segmentation faults or access violations in processes handling ICC color profiles
• Implement runtime application self-protection (RASP) solutions that can detect stack-based buffer overflow attacks

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-34555

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade iccDEV to version 2.3.1.6 or later immediately
• Review all applications and systems that utilize iccDEV for ICC profile processing
• Validate the source and integrity of ICC profile files before processing

Patch Information

The iccDEV development team has addressed this vulnerability in version 2.3.1.6. The fix was implemented via Pull Request #739. Complete technical details are available in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-983c-rgh5-4982.

Organizations should update to the patched version by following the standard iccDEV build and installation procedures from the official repository.

Workarounds

• Restrict ICC profile processing to trusted sources only until patching can be completed
• Implement input validation to reject ICC profiles from untrusted or unknown sources
• Run applications that process ICC profiles in sandboxed environments with restricted privileges
• Consider disabling ICC profile processing features if they are not critical to operations

# Configuration example
# Verify installed iccDEV version and update if vulnerable
# Check current version (method varies by installation)
pkg-config --modversion iccDEV 2>/dev/null || echo "Check installation manually"

# If using source build, update to patched version
git clone https://github.com/InternationalColorConsortium/iccDEV.git
cd iccDEV
git checkout v2.3.1.6
# Follow standard build instructions