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Hdf5Application · Hdfgroup

CVE-2024-29158

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.14.3 or later.
See remediation →
79/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

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
HDF5 through 1.14.3 contains a stack buffer overflow in H5FL_arr_malloc, resulting in the corruption of the instruction pointer and causing denial of service or potential code execution.

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

HDF5 library versions through 1.14.3 contain a stack buffer overflow vulnerability in the H5FL_arr_malloc function. This memory corruption issue allows an attacker to overwrite the instruction pointer, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service via application crash.

MitigationUpgrade HDF5 to a version beyond 1.14.3 once available, or apply vendor-supplied patches. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict untrusted input from reaching HDF5 file operations and monitor for anomalous behavior.

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
Hdf5Application
Affected:<= 1.14.3

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/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. Identify installed HDF5 library version
    Run 'h5dump --version' or check library files: 'ldconfig -p | grep hdf5' and examine the file version using 'file' or 'strings' on the library. Also check package manager: 'dpkg -l libhdf5*' (Debian) or 'rpm -qa | grep hdf5' (RHEL).
    Affected if The reported version is 1.14.3 or lower, or version information cannot be determined (indicating an older unpatched build).
  2. Locate HDF5 library files on the system
    Search for HDF5 shared libraries: 'find /usr -name "*hdf5*" -type f 2>/dev/null' and note their paths for version inspection.
    Affected if HDF5 library files exist on the system and their version (if readable from filename or metadata) is 1.14.3 or below.
  3. Detect HDF5 usage in running processes
    Check for processes using HDF5: 'lsof +D /usr 2>/dev/null | grep -i hdf' or 'ps aux | grep -i hdf'. Also monitor for HDF5 file access via 'inotifywait' on directories containing HDF5 files.
    Affected if Any process is actively loading or using an HDF5 library at version 1.14.3 or lower, making the vulnerable H5FL_arr_malloc function code path reachable.
  4. Inspect HDF5 configuration and build information
    If HDF5 was built from source, check the build configuration file or 'H5public.h' header for the H5_VERSION_NUM macro defining the version. Run 'grep -r "H5_VERSION" /usr/include/hdf5* 2>/dev/null'.
    Affected if The compiled-in version macro indicates 1.14.3 or lower.

A system is affected if HDF5 library version 1.14.3 or lower is installed and any application or process can trigger HDF5 file operations, enabling the vulnerable H5FL_arr_malloc function to be reached.

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 1.14.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade HDF5 to a version beyond 1.14.3 once available, or apply vendor-supplied patches. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict untrusted input from reaching HDF5 file operations and monitor for anomalous behavior.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

HDF5 version greater than 1.14.3 (check www.hdfgroup.org for the latest stable release)

  1. Check the current HDF5 version installed in your environment using your package manager or by running `h5dump --version`
  2. Upgrade HDF5 to the latest stable version available from the official HDF Group (www.hdfgroup.org) or your distribution's package repository
  3. After upgrading, verify the new version is running and test that your applications still function correctly with the updated library
  4. If using a package manager (apt, yum, brew, conda, etc.), run the appropriate update command for your system (e.g., `apt update && apt upgrade libhdf5` or `conda update hdf5`)
Caveat Review HDF5 release notes for any API changes or deprecations between your current version and the new version that may affect your applications

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

Fix this in Hdf5 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,160
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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-2024-29158 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