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Heap Buffer Over-read via Malformed Message Size in HDF5's H5O__chunk_deserialize

Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.

1.9LowCNA
Exploited
No known exploitation
Fix
Fixed in 2.3.0
Who is exposed
Not reported

Do first: Upgrade to a fixed version: 2.3.0.

2Pcve.now Index 2 of 100 · methodology v3 · provisional
  • Exploitation0/40No signal
  • Exposure?/25Exposure: unknown (data gap). No advisory context yet
  • Reach?/20Reach: unknown (data gap). No tracked technology or package matched
  • Severity1.9/10CVSS 1.9
  • No patch0/5No signal

What would change the score

  • Would score about 57 if added to CISA KEV
  • Would score about 52 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
  • Would score about 24 if advisories confirm default setups are exposed

CVE-2026-120756 is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No public exploit code is tracked. It is rated CVSS 1.9 (low) and affects HDF5; fixed in 2.3.0.

Published
Last modified
Published
Not listed in CISA KEV
2/100 · provisional
Fix
Fixed in 2.3.0
None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
  • Exploitation: none
  • Automatable: no
  • Technical impact: partial

Summary

The HDF5 library (its object header parsing code, through version 2.2.0) is affected. A specially crafted HDF5 file opened by an application can cause the library to read past the end of a memory buffer, which may crash the program or expose a small amount of its memory contents.

Read the original description

HDF5 through 2.2.0 contains a heap buffer over-read vulnerability in H5O__chunk_deserialize() in src/H5Ocache.c. When decoding object header messages, the declared message size is checked against the end of the chunk image before the remainder of the message header (flags, and for version 2 object headers, the optional creation index) has been decoded. Because the message body begins after these fields, a message can start up to four bytes further into the chunk than the size check accounts for. A crafted HDF5 file can declare a message size that passes the check but extends past the end of the chunk image, causing the message’s decode callback, for example H5O__mtime_new_decode() in src/H5Omtime.c, to read beyond the heap allocation. The flaw is reachable during H5Fopen() on a crafted file. An attacker who can get a user or application to open a malicious file can cause a denial of service or limited disclosure of process memory.

What to do

  • Upgrade to a fixed version: 2.3.0.

Timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. First seen by cve.now
  3. CISA SSVC assessment

    Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial

  4. Record last updated

Affected versions

  • The HDF Group HDF5

    fixed in 2.3.0

Evidence 2

  1. Repository
  2. Repository

Corrections

None so far.

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FAQ

Questions about CVE-2026-120756

Is CVE-2026-120756 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: cve.now feed data

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-120756?

HDF5: before 2.3.0.Source: cve.now feed data

How do I fix CVE-2026-120756?

Upgrade to a fixed version: 2.3.0.Source: cve.now feed data