dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2021-3933

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An integer overflow could occur when OpenEXR processes a crafted file on systems where size_t < 64 bits. This could cause an invalid bytesPerLine and maxBytesPerLine value, which could lead to problems with application stability or lead to other attack paths.

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 confidence

OpenEXR contains an integer overflow vulnerability in its file parsing logic. When processing specially crafted OpenEXR files on 32-bit systems (where size_t is less than 64 bits), the calculation of bytesPerLine and maxBytesPerLine values can overflow, producing invalid results that may cause application instability or provide additional attack surface.

MitigationRestrict processing of OpenEXR files from untrusted sources, especially on 32-bit systems. Apply vendor patches or update to a fixed OpenEXR version when available.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 36
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0
OpenexrApplication
Affected:< 3.1.2

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 if OpenEXR is installed
    On Debian/Ubuntu: dpkg -l | grep openexr. On Fedora/RHEL: rpm -qa | grep -i openexr. Or check for files in /usr/include/OpenEXR/ or /usr/lib/ containing openexr libraries.
    Affected if OpenEXR libraries or development files are present on the system
  2. Identify the installed OpenEXR version
    Run 'openexr-config --version' if available, or check package manager output: 'dpkg -l libopenexr*' (Debian) or 'rpm -q openexr' (Fedora).
    Affected if The version is lower than 3.1.2 (for example 3.0.x, 3.1.0, or 3.1.1)
  3. Determine system architecture
    Run 'uname -m' or 'getconf LONG_BIT'. The vulnerability specifically affects 32-bit systems where size_t is 32 bits.
    Affected if System reports as i386, i686, or LONG_BIT returns 32
  4. Check if OpenEXR processing handles untrusted files
    Review application logs, configs, or code that processes .exr files. Look for file upload functionality, image processing pipelines, or content management systems that accept OpenEXR input.
    Affected if Applications process OpenEXR files from untrusted or user-uploaded sources

Affected if OpenEXR version is below 3.1.2 AND the system is 32-bit AND untrusted OpenEXR files are processed.

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 3.1.2 or later
Fixed in 3.1.2
Interim mitigation

Restrict processing of OpenEXR files from untrusted sources, especially on 32-bit systems. Apply vendor patches or update to a fixed OpenEXR version when available.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenEXR 3.1.2 or later

  1. Identify the OpenEXR library version currently installed in your system
  2. Update the OpenEXR package to version 3.1.2 or later using your system's package manager (e.g., dnf for Fedora, apt for Debian)
  3. Verify the updated version is 3.1.2 or higher
  4. Rebuild or restart any applications that use OpenEXR to ensure they load the patched library

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

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-3933 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-3933 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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