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CVE-2021-42521

7.5 · HIGH

There is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in VTK before 9.2.5, and it lies in IO/Infovis/vtkXMLTreeReader.cxx.

Published Aug 25, 2022CWE-400EPSS 1.29%

Overview

CVE-2021-42521 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 25, 2022 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical 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.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

Refdiscourse.vtk.org/t/vtk-9-2-5-is-out/10549Refgitlab.kitware.com/vtk/vtk/issues/17818Reflists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PCTMSAAVP4BW2HTZLDWMGKZ2WEC5OFLK/Refdiscourse.vtk.org/t/vtk-9-2-5-is-out/10549Refgitlab.kitware.com/vtk/vtk/issues/17818Reflists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PCTMSAAVP4BW2HTZLDWMGKZ2WEC5OFLK/

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-42521?

CVE-2021-42521 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 25, 2022 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2021-42521?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2021-42521?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2021-42521?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2021-42521 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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