CVE-2026-42798
Integer Overflow in Little CMS (lcms2)
Publication date: 2026-04-30
Last updated on: 2026-04-30
Assigner: MITRE
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| mm2 | lcms2 | From 2.16 (inc) to 2.19 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-190 | The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This occurs when an integer value is incremented to a value that is too large to store in the associated representation. When this occurs, the value may become a very small or negative number. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
CVE-2026-42798 is an integer overflow vulnerability in the Little CMS (lcms2) color management library versions 2.16 through 2.18, specifically in the ParseCube function within cmscgats.c.
This integer overflow occurs when processing crafted ICC profiles with specific Color Lookup Table (CLUT) dimensions. The overflow causes the calculated size of the CLUT buffer to wrap around to a smaller value, which passes validation but results in an undersized buffer.
As a result, out-of-bounds memory access can occur during color transformations, potentially leading to heap-based buffer overflows, crashes, or information disclosure.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can impact applications that use the vulnerable versions of the Little CMS library by causing crashes or enabling information disclosure.
Specifically, crafted ICC profiles with maliciously designed CLUT dimensions can trigger heap-based buffer overflows, leading to potential denial of service or exposure of sensitive memory contents.
Affected applications include popular software such as Ubuntu 24.04's Poppler, evince-thumbnailer, OpenJDK, GIMP, LibreOffice, and others that rely on lcms2 for color management.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability involves an integer overflow in the Little CMS (lcms2) library versions 2.16 through 2.18, triggered by crafted ICC profiles with specific CLUT dimensions. Detection involves identifying usage of vulnerable lcms2 versions and scanning for suspicious or malformed ICC profiles that could exploit the overflow.
Since the vulnerability is triggered by crafted ICC profiles, you can detect potential exploitation attempts by monitoring applications that process ICC profiles (such as Poppler, evince-thumbnailer, OpenJDK, GIMP, LibreOffice) for crashes or abnormal behavior.
No specific detection commands are provided in the resources. However, general approaches include:
- Check the installed version of lcms2 on your system to confirm if it is vulnerable (versions 2.16 through 2.18). For example, on Linux, use: `lcms2-config --version` or check package manager info.
- Scan files or network traffic for ICC profiles and analyze their dimensions to detect potentially malicious profiles.
- Monitor application logs and crash reports for errors related to color management or ICC profile processing.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
The primary mitigation step is to upgrade the Little CMS (lcms2) library to version 2.19 or later, where the integer overflow in ParseCube has been fixed.
If upgrading immediately is not possible, consider restricting or sanitizing input ICC profiles to prevent processing of crafted profiles with malicious CLUT dimensions.
Additionally, monitor and apply any patches or updates provided by your operating system or application vendors that use lcms2.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
The vulnerability in Little CMS (lcms2) involves an integer overflow that can lead to heap-based buffer overflow and potential information disclosure under certain conditions.
Such information disclosure vulnerabilities could impact compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR or HIPAA if sensitive personal or health information is processed using affected applications that rely on the vulnerable library.
However, the provided information does not explicitly describe any direct impact on compliance with these standards or regulations.