Heap Buffer Over-read via Non-Terminated Link Data in H5L__extern_traverse

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-120757
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerHDFG
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-11-03 16:17:23 UTC
Updated2026-11-03 16:30:17 UTC
DescriptionHDF5 through 2.2.0 contains a heap buffer over-read vulnerability in H5L__extern_traverse() in src/H5Lexternal.c, the default traversal callback for external links. The callback locates the target file name and object path within the link’s user data using strlen() without validating the buffer against its stored size (udata_size, which was marked unused). A crafted HDF5 file containing an external link whose data is not NULL-terminated, or is too short to hold both strings, causes strlen() to read past the end of the udata heap buffer, and the derived object path pointer may also point outside the buffer. The overrun is unbounded and continues until a zero byte is found. The flaw is triggered when the malicious link is traversed, for example when opening an object through it. An attacker who can get a user or application to access a crafted file can cause a denial of service, and adjacent heap contents may be incorporated into the external file name or object path the library attempts to open.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v4.0 6.9 MEDIUM from 0253b833-3e77-4dfe-9d57-17db1a2f0a74

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Problem Types: CWE-125 | CWE-125 CWE-125 Out-of-bounds read

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
4.00253b833-3e77-4dfe-9d57-17db1a2f0a74Secondary6.9MEDIUMCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C...
4.0CNACVSS6.9MEDIUMCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS v4.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Passive
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Sub Conf.
None
Sub Integrity
None
Sub Availability
None

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA The HDF Group HDF5 affected < 2.3.0 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/pull/6708 0253b833-3e77-4dfe-9d57-17db1a2f0a74 github.com
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