CVE-2025-53011 — materialx
Fix: AcademySoftwareFoundation/MaterialX@7ac1c71CVE-2025-53011 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in materialx. A fix is available for materialx — see the affected versions and patch details below.
MaterialX is Vulnerable to NULL Pointer Dereference due to Unchecked implGraphOutput
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-53011.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Real-World Exposure
materialxReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
When parsing shader nodes in a MTLX file, the MaterialXCore code accesses a potentially null pointer, which can lead to crashes with maliciously crafted files.
Details
In source/MaterialXCore/Material.cpp, the following code extracts the output nodes for a given implementation graph:
InterfaceElementPtr impl = materialNodeDef->getImplementation();
if (impl && impl->isA<NodeGraph>())
{
NodeGraphPtr implGraph = impl->asA<NodeGraph>();
for (OutputPtr defOutput : materialNodeDef->getOutputs())
{
if (defOutput->getType() == MATERIAL_TYPE_STRING)
{
OutputPtr implGraphOutput = implGraph->getOutput(defOutput->getName());
for (GraphIterator it = implGraphOutput->traverseGraph().begin(); it != GraphIterator::end(); ++it)
{
ElementPtr upstreamElem = it.getUpstreamElement();
if (!upstreamElem)
{
it.setPruneSubgraph(true);
continue;
}
NodePtr upstreamNode = upstreamElem->asA<Node>();
if (upstreamNode && upstream
However, when defining the implGraphOutput variable by getting the output node, the code doesn't check whether its value is null before accessing its iterator traverseGraph(). This leads to a potential null pointer dereference.
PoC
Please download nullptr_implgraph.mtlx from the following link:
https://github.com/ShielderSec/poc/tree/main/CVE-2025-53011
build/bin/MaterialXView --material nullptr_implgraph.mtlx
Impact
An attacker could intentionally crash a target program that uses MaterialX by sending a malicious MTLX file.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | materialx | ≥ 1.39.2&&< 1.39.3 | 1.39.3pip install --upgrade 'materialx==1.39.3' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for materialx, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update materialx to 1.39.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-53011 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2025-53011 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2025-53011. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-53011 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2025-53011 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.