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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- Published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- A 0-100 score for how much a CVE matters across the industry: exploitation, exposure, how widely the software is used, severity and whether a fix exists.What do these mean? →
- 2/100 · provisional
- Fix
- Fixed in 2.3.0
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- 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
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- The HDF Group HDF5
fixed in 2.3.0
Evidence 2
- Repository
- Repository
Corrections
None so far.
Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.
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