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MatioApplication · Matio Project

CVE-2020-36428

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-07-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.5.21 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
matio (aka MAT File I/O Library) 1.5.18 through 1.5.21 has a heap-based buffer overflow in ReadInt32DataDouble (called from ReadInt32Data and Mat_VarRead4).

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 · high confidence

The matio library versions 1.5.18-1.5.21 contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the ReadInt32DataDouble function, which is called during MAT file parsing. When reading 32-bit integer data into double precision format, insufficient bounds checking allows writing beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or denial of service via specially crafted MAT files.

MitigationUpgrade matio to version 1.5.22 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. As a temporary measure, ensure untrusted MAT files are not processed by applications using this library.

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
MatioApplication
Affected:>= 1.5.18, <= 1.5.21

CVSS 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:3.1/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed matio library version
    Run 'matio --version' or check the library file with 'strings libmatio.so | grep -i version' or 'file libmatio*'. On Debian/Ubuntu, run 'dpkg -l | grep matio'. On RHEL/CentOS, run 'rpm -qa | grep matio'.
    Affected if The version displayed is 1.5.18, 1.5.19, 1.5.20, or 1.5.21
  2. Check application-linked matio version
    Identify applications that load matio using 'ldd /path/to/application | grep matio' or 'lsof | grep matio' to see which programs use the library. Then check the linked library version.
    Affected if The linked matio library version is between 1.5.18 and 1.5.21 inclusive
  3. Verify ReadInt32DataDouble function presence
    Check if the vulnerable function exists in the installed library by running 'nm libmatio.so | grep ReadInt32DataDouble' or 'objdump -T libmatio.so | grep ReadInt32DataDouble'.
    Affected if The function is present in the library, indicating an unpatched version
  4. Detect active MAT file processing
    Monitor for processes actively handling .mat files using 'lsof +D / | grep -i \.mat' or check application logs for MAT file parsing activity. Use 'ps aux | grep -i mat' to find related processes.
    Affected if Applications are actively parsing MAT files while using a vulnerable matio version (1.5.18-1.5.21)

You are affected if the installed or linked matio library version is 1.5.18, 1.5.19, 1.5.20, or 1.5.21 and applications process MAT files with this library.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.5.21
Interim mitigation

Upgrade matio to version 1.5.22 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. As a temporary measure, ensure untrusted MAT files are not processed by applications using this library.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

1.5.22 or later (the first stable release after 1.5.21 that addresses this heap-based buffer overflow)

  1. 1. Identify all applications and systems that link to or use the matio library.
  2. 2. Determine the current version of matio in use by checking library files or package managers (e.g., dpkg -l libmatio-dev, or checking linked libraries).
  3. 3. If using a Linux distribution package, check if your distribution has issued a security update for this CVE (e.g., check Ubuntu Security Notices, Debian Security Tracker).
  4. 4. If building from source, download matio source code from the official repository.
  5. 5. Compile and install the fixed version, ensuring to update any dependent applications.
Caveat Minor - this is a bugfix release; however, always test in a staging environment before production deployment to ensure compatibility with existing MAT file workflows

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Matio Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-36428 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data