CVE-2026-21399 in Open Volume Kernel Library
Summary
by MITRE • 08/12/2026
Heap-based buffer overflow for the Intel(R) Open Volume Kernel Library (Intel(R) Open VKL) library maintained by intel(R) before version 2.0.2 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow a denial of service. System software adversary with an authenticated user combined with a low complexity attack may enable denial of service. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are not present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (none), integrity (low) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/12/2026
The heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability identified in Intel's Open Volume Kernel Library represents a critical security weakness that affects the library's handling of memory allocation during user application execution. This flaw exists within the Ring 3 environment, meaning it operates at the user level rather than kernel level, yet maintains significant operational impact due to its potential for denial of service attacks. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the library processes data structures that exceed allocated heap buffer boundaries, creating opportunities for memory corruption that can disrupt normal system operations.
The technical nature of this flaw aligns with common software security weaknesses documented under CWE-122, which describes insufficient validation of the length of input data leading to buffer overflow conditions in heap-based memory management. The vulnerability's classification as a heap-based buffer overflow indicates that attackers can manipulate memory allocation routines to overwrite adjacent heap data structures, potentially causing application crashes or system instability. This type of vulnerability typically occurs when programs fail to properly validate input size limits before copying data into pre-allocated buffer regions.
Attackers with authenticated user access can exploit this vulnerability through local execution environments where they can trigger the problematic code path within the Open VKL library. The attack complexity is rated as low, suggesting that the exploitation mechanism does not require sophisticated techniques or specialized tools beyond normal user privileges. Since no user interaction is required for exploitation and the attack can be executed with existing system access, this vulnerability presents an attractive target for adversaries seeking to disrupt system availability without requiring additional social engineering or privilege escalation techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability manifests primarily as a denial of service condition that can severely compromise system availability while maintaining minimal effects on confidentiality and integrity. The high availability impact rating indicates that successful exploitation could cause complete system disruption, application crashes, or forced restarts within systems utilizing the vulnerable library. The potential for system-wide impacts increases when considering that Open VKL is commonly used in visualization and rendering applications that may be integral to business operations or scientific computing environments where continuous operation is critical.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch deployment to versions 2.0.2 or later, which contain the necessary memory validation fixes. System administrators should also implement monitoring solutions to detect abnormal application behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additional protective measures include restricting user privileges where possible and implementing application whitelisting controls to limit execution of potentially vulnerable applications. The ATT&CK framework's T1499 technique for network denial of service, combined with T1059 command and scripting interpreter usage, represents relevant threat patterns that organizations should monitor for in relation to this vulnerability's exploitation vectors.
Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments across all systems utilizing Intel Open VKL to identify potential attack surfaces and implement proper access controls. The vulnerability's characteristics suggest that regular security updates and patch management procedures should be prioritized for any software components that rely on heap-based memory management. Organizations should also consider implementing runtime application self-protection mechanisms or heap corruption detection tools to provide additional defense-in-depth measures against similar vulnerabilities that may not yet have patches available.