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Hdf5Application · Hdfgroup

CVE-2024-33873

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.14.4 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 has a heap-based buffer overflow in H5D__scatter_mem in H5Dscatgath.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 · moderate confidence

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the H5D__scatter_mem function in H5Dscatgath.c of the HDF5 library through version 1.14.3. The overflow occurs during scatter memory operations on datasets, potentially allowing attackers to corrupt heap memory and cause denial of service or achieve arbitrary code execution via specially crafted HDF5 files.

MitigationUpdate HDF5 library to version 1.14.4 or later where the vulnerability is patched. Until then, sanitize or reject HDF5 files from untrusted sources before processing.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check installed HDF5 library version
    Run 'h5dump --version' or 'h5ls --version' to see the HDF5 library version. Alternatively, check the shared library file directly with 'ls -l /usr/lib/libhdf5*' or 'ldconfig -p | grep hdf5' to find the library path, then examine its version metadata.
    Affected if The reported version is 1.14.3 or earlier, meaning it is less than 1.14.4.
  2. Identify all HDF5 library instances on the system
    Search for HDF5 library files across the system using 'find /usr -name "*hdf5*" 2>/dev/null' and check any locally installed versions in home directories or custom paths. Also check application bundles that may include their own HDF5 library.
    Affected if Any HDF5 library found on the system is version 1.14.3 or earlier.
  3. Identify processes or applications that use HDF5
    Run 'ldconfig -p | grep -i hdf5' to list applications linked against HDF5, or use 'lsof' on running processes to find open HDF5 library handles. Check application dependencies with 'ldd <application>' for each HDF5-using application.
    Affected if Any application linked against a vulnerable HDF5 library version (below 1.14.4) is potentially affected when processing HDF5 datasets.
  4. Check for HDF5 file processing operations
    Review application logs or code to determine if the application performs scatter operations on datasets. In code, look for calls to H5Dscatter, H5Dread with scatter options, or similar dataset I/O functions in H5Dscatgath.c.
    Affected if The application performs scatter memory operations on HDF5 datasets using a vulnerable library version.
  5. Audit for untrusted HDF5 file ingestion
    Review system or application configuration to identify if HDF5 files from untrusted or external sources are processed. Check file import workflows, API endpoints accepting HDF5 uploads, or data pipelines processing external HDF5 files.
    Affected if The environment processes HDF5 files from untrusted sources using a vulnerable library version.

You are affected if any HDF5 library installation on your system is version 1.14.3 or earlier and you process HDF5 files, particularly those 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 library to version 1.14.4 or later where the vulnerability is patched. Until then, sanitize or reject HDF5 files from untrusted sources before processing.

Recommended fix High confidence

HDF5 1.14.4

  1. Identify all systems, applications, or containers that include the HDF5 library version < 1.14.4
  2. Locate the HDF5 library installation (common paths include /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib, or project dependencies)
  3. Replace the vulnerable HDF5 library with version 1.14.4 or later from the official HDF Group distribution (www.hdfgroup.org)
  4. Rebuild or recompile any applications statically linked against the old HDF5 library
  5. Restart any running services or applications that use HDF5
  6. Verify the new version is loaded by checking HDF5 version at runtime (e.g., H5get_libversion)
Caveat Check HDF5 1.14.4 release notes for any API changes or backward compatibility considerations before upgrading

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
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2024-33873 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