CVE-2018-14460
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn issue was discovered in the HDF HDF5 1.8.20 library. There is a heap-based buffer over-read in the function H5O_sdspace_decode in H5Osdspace.c.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA heap-based buffer over-read vulnerability exists in the H5O_sdspace_decode function in H5Osdspace.c of the HDF HDF5 library version 1.8.20. This memory corruption issue allows reading beyond allocated heap buffers, potentially leading to information disclosure or arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH).
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 1.8.20CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate HDF5 library filesSearch for libhdf5.so or hdf5.dll files on the system using commands like 'find /usr -name "*hdf5*" 2>/dev/null' on Linux or check Program Files\HDF Group\HDF5 on WindowsAffected if HDF5 library files exist on the system
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Determine installed HDF5 versionRun 'h5dump --version' or check the library filename for version string, or use 'ldd' on any HDF5-linked executable to see the loaded library versionAffected if The version reported is exactly 1.8.20
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Identify processes or applications using HDF5Check running processes that link against libhdf5 using 'lsof | grep hdf5' or review application dependencies for HDF5 library linkageAffected if Applications process HDF5 files using version 1.8.20 of the library
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Inspect HDF5 file processing code pathReview whether the environment processes HDF5 files containing dataset space (sdspace) information, as the vulnerable H5O_sdspace_decode function handles this data structureAffected if HDF5 files with dataset space metadata are parsed by the affected library version
A system is affected if HDF5 library version 1.8.20 is installed and used to process HDF5 files containing dataset space metadata structures.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to a patched version of HDF5 library beyond 1.8.20 and validate that all HDF5 file processing functionality remains operational.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14460 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-14460 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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