CVE-2021-42528 XMP-Toolkit Null Pointer Dereference Application denial-of-service

Medium 5.5 Published 2 May 2022 Updated 3 Nov 2025

An attacker can cause a denial of service in applications using Adobe XMP Toolkit by tricking a user into opening a malicious file.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: A user has to click or open something
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2021-42528?

CVE-2021-42528 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 2 May 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

XMP Toolkit 2021.07 (and earlier) is affected by a Null pointer dereference vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve an application denial-of-service in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-42528?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Adobe Xmp Toolkit Software Development Kit, Debian Debian Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2021-42528?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Is CVE-2021-42528 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-42528 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Debian Debian Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2021-42528, GHSA-mpvq-c99j-qj2v, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-42528.