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CVE-2021-42521

HIGHCVSS 7.5/10EPSS 1.07%

Last modified

CVE-2021-42521 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.5/10 on the CVSS scale. There is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in VTK before 9.2.5, and it lies in IO/Infovis/vtkXMLTreeReader.cxx. The vendor didn't check the return value of libxml2 API 'xmlDocGetRootElement', and try to dereference it. EPSS estimates a 1.07% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

There is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in VTK before 9.2.5, and it lies in IO/Infovis/vtkXMLTreeReader.cxx. The vendor didn't check the return value of libxml2 API 'xmlDocGetRootElement', and try to dereference it. It is unsafe as the return value can be NULL and that NULL pointer dereference may crash the application.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.5/10

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

EPSS Probability
1.07%

60.5th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
VtkVtk<= 9.0.0

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-42521?
There is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in VTK before 9.2.5, and it lies in IO/Infovis/vtkXMLTreeReader.cxx. The vendor didn't check the return value of libxml2 API 'xmlDocGetRootElement', and try to dereference it. It is unsafe as the return value can be NULL and that NULL pointer dereference may crash the application.
How severe is CVE-2021-42521?
CVE-2021-42521 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 1.07% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2021-42521?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2021-42521?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST