CVE-2024-32624
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 · uneditedHDF5 Library through 1.14.3 contains a heap-based buffer overflow in H5T__ref_mem_setnull in H5Tref.c (called from H5T__conv_ref in H5Tconv.c), resulting in the corruption of the instruction pointer.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in HDF5 Library's reference type conversion logic (H5T__ref_mem_setnull in H5Tref.c) allows corruption of the instruction pointer, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution when processing specially crafted HDF5 files.
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< 1.14.4CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the installed HDF5 librarySearch for HDF5 library files on the system: find /usr -name '*hdf5*' 2>/dev/null or check package manager: dpkg -l | grep hdf5 or rpm -qa | grep hdf5Affected if HDF5 library is present on the system
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Determine the installed HDF5 versionRun: h5dump --version or check the library file version directly using strings or a library inspection toolAffected if The version displayed is less than 1.14.4 (for example, 1.14.3, 1.14.2, 1.12.x, etc.)
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Identify applications using HDF5Search for applications linked against HDF5: ldd <application> | grep hdf5 or check for HDF5 dependencies in application manifestsAffected if Applications process untrusted HDF5 files and link to a vulnerable HDF5 version below 1.14.4
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Inspect HDF5 file processing workflowsReview logs or trace files for HDF5 file operations, particularly those involving reference type datasets (H5T_REFERENCE)Affected if The environment processes HDF5 files that could contain specially crafted reference type data
A system is affected if HDF5 Library version 1.14.4 or later is NOT installed and the system processes untrusted HDF5 files using reference type conversion functionality.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped1.14.4
Upgrade HDF5 Library to version 1.14.4 or later; until then, restrict processing of untrusted HDF5 files and monitor for exploits.
1.14.4
- Identify all systems, applications, or containers running HDF5 library versions prior to 1.14.4
- Backup any critical data or configurations that rely on HDF5
- Upgrade HDF5 library to version 1.14.4 or later
- Rebuild or recompile any applications that link against the HDF5 library to use the new version
- Restart any services or applications that use the HDF5 library
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the HDF5 version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-32624 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-32624 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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