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Hdf5Application · Hdfgroup

CVE-2024-29164

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.14.4 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 H5R__decode_heap, 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 · high confidence

HDF5 library versions through 1.14.3 contain a stack buffer overflow vulnerability in the H5R__decode_heap function. The overflow allows an attacker to corrupt the instruction pointer, leading to denial of service and potential arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking when decoding heap data in the HDF5 file format.

MitigationUpdate HDF5 to version 1.14.4 or later which contains the fix for the stack buffer overflow in H5R__decode_heap. Until patched, restrict untrusted users from providing specially crafted HDF5 files to applications using the 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
Hdf5Application
Affected:< 1.14.4

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 your package manager for the installed hdf5 package version. If using the library programmatically, call H5get_libversion() or check the library binary with 'strings' and grep for version strings like '1.14.'
    Affected if The version is 1.14.3 or earlier (anything less than 1.14.4)
  2. Confirm HDF5 library is linked to your application
    For any application that opens HDF5 files, use 'ldd <executable>' on Linux or check dependencies on Windows to verify the hdf5 library is loaded
    Affected if The HDF5 library is present and in use by your applications
  3. Determine if applications process untrusted HDF5 files
    Review your application's data handling: check if it reads HDF5 files from untrusted sources (user uploads, network data, files in world-writable directories) and whether H5R (reference) functions are used to decode heap data from those files
    Affected if Applications process HDF5 files from untrusted sources and the vulnerable H5R__decode_heap code path could be triggered

You are affected if your installed HDF5 library version is less than 1.14.4 and your applications use the library to open HDF5 files from untrusted sources.

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 1.14.4 or later
Fixed in 1.14.4
Interim mitigation

Update HDF5 to version 1.14.4 or later which contains the fix for the stack buffer overflow in H5R__decode_heap. Until patched, restrict untrusted users from providing specially crafted HDF5 files to applications using the library.

Recommended fix High confidence

HDF5 1.14.4 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current HDF5 version installed in your environment by running 'h5dump --version' or checking your package manager.
  2. 2. Obtain HDF5 version 1.14.4 or later from the official HDF Group website (www.hdfgroup.org) or your system's package manager.
  3. 3. If building from source, download the HDF5 1.14.4 source code and compile with standard build options: ./configure && make && make install.
  4. 4. If using a package manager, upgrade HDF5 (e.g., 'apt-get update && apt-get install libhdf5-dev' or 'yum update hdf5').
  5. 5. Rebuild and recompile any applications that statically or dynamically link against the HDF5 library to ensure they use the new version.
  6. 6. Verify the upgraded version by running 'h5dump --version' and confirming it shows 1.14.4 or later.
  7. 7. Test critical functionality of your HDF5-dependent applications to ensure proper operation after the upgrade.
Caveat Review HDF5 release notes for any API changes between your current version and 1.14.4; some applications may require recompilation or minor adjustments

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

Fix this in Hdf5 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2024-29164 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