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Hdf5Application · Hdfgroup

CVE-2024-32622

CRITICAL · 9.1 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 Library through 1.14.3 contains a out-of-bounds read operation in H5FL_arr_malloc in H5FL.c (called from H5S_set_extent_simple in H5S.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 · high confidence

Out-of-bounds read vulnerability in HDF5 Library versions through 1.14.3 in the H5FL_arr_malloc function (H5FL.c), triggered via H5S_set_extent_simple in H5S.c. This memory safety flaw could allow attackers to read sensitive data from adjacent memory allocations.

MitigationUpgrade HDF5 Library to patched version once available; otherwise, restrict network exposure to systems processing untrusted HDF5 files and implement input validation on dataspace extent parameters.

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
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Verify HDF5 installation
    Check if the HDF5 library is present on the system by searching for libhdf5 shared objects (e.g., find /usr -name 'libhdf5*' 2>/dev/null) or the h5dump command-line tool (which h5dump).
    Affected if HDF5 library is found on the system.
  2. Determine installed HDF5 version
    Run 'h5dump --version' or inspect the library file name for version information (e.g., libhdf5.so.1.14.3). Compare the installed version against the affected range: versions through 1.14.3 are vulnerable, while 1.14.4 and later are patched.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.14.3 or earlier (any version less than 1.14.4).
  3. Identify code using H5S_set_extent_simple
    Review application source code or runtime behavior for calls to the H5S_set_extent_simple function in H5S.c, which triggers the vulnerable H5FL_arr_malloc code path in H5FL.c. Search source files for 'H5Sset_extent_simple' or monitor library calls during HDF5 file processing.
    Affected if The application or workflow invokes H5S_set_extent_simple to manipulate dataspace extents.
  4. Assess exposure to untrusted HDF5 input
    Determine whether the system processes HDF5 files from untrusted or external sources, as the vulnerability is triggered when parsing specially crafted dataspace extent parameters in such files.
    Affected if The system reads or processes HDF5 files from untrusted or network-exposed sources without prior validation.

A system is affected if it runs HDF5 library version 1.14.3 or earlier AND processes HDF5 files that invoke H5S_set_extent_simple, particularly untrusted files that could supply malicious dataspace extent parameters.

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

Upgrade HDF5 Library to patched version once available; otherwise, restrict network exposure to systems processing untrusted HDF5 files and implement input validation on dataspace extent parameters.

Recommended fix High confidence

HDF5 1.14.4

  1. 1. Identify all applications and systems that depend on the HDF5 library in your environment
  2. 2. Download HDF5 version 1.14.4 from the official HDF Group website (www.hdfgroup.org) or your distribution's package manager
  3. 3. Stop any running applications that use the HDF5 library before upgrading
  4. 4. Install HDF5 1.14.4, ensuring you replace the existing vulnerable library version
  5. 5. Rebuild or recompile any applications statically linked against HDF5 to ensure they use the new version
  6. 6. Restart applications and verify normal operation
  7. 7. Test that existing HDF5 data files can be read and written correctly with the upgraded library
Caveat Minor version upgrade within 1.14.x series typically has minimal breaking changes, but test in non-production environment first as API/ABI changes may affect some 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
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,520
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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-2024-32622 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