CVE-2024-33874
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 has a heap buffer overflow in H5O__mtime_new_encode in H5Omtime.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 confidenceHeap buffer overflow vulnerability in HDF5 Library versions through 1.14.3 within the H5O__mtime_new_encode function in H5Omtime.c. The overflow occurs during timestamp encoding operations, potentially allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed HDF5 library versionRun 'h5dump --version' or check your package manager for hdf5 package version. If linked statically, use 'ldd' on your application and check the libhdf5.so version, or check the library file directly with 'ls -la /path/to/libhdf5*'Affected if Version is 1.14.3 or earlier (anything less than 1.14.4)
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Verify HDF5 is used for file operationsSearch your application binaries for HDF5 function calls, particularly H5O functions related to objects and timestamps. Check application logs or code for HDF5 file opening/creation (H5Fopen, H5Fcreate)Affected if Application processes HDF5 files using the library
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Check for timestamp modification code pathsAudit application code or runtime behavior for calls to H5Oset_mtime or any object metadata modification functions that trigger the H5O__mtime_new_encode code pathAffected if Code path that encodes timestamps using H5O__mtime_new_encode is reachable
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Identify dependent applicationsRun 'ldconfig -p | grep hdf5' or check your application's dependency list to find all binaries linked against libhdf5Affected if Any application linked against a vulnerable HDF5 version processes untrusted HDF5 files
You are affected if any application or library in your environment links to HDF5 version 1.14.3 or earlier and processes HDF5 files, enabling the vulnerable timestamp encoding code path.
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
Update HDF5 library to a version beyond 1.14.3 once patch is available; validate all HDF5 file processing paths in dependent applications.
1.14.4
- 1. Identify all systems and applications that use the HDF5 library
- 2. Verify current HDF5 version by running 'h5dump --version' or checking package manager
- 3. Upgrade HDF5 to version 1.14.4 or later using your package manager or by building from source
- 4. Rebuild any applications that statically link against HDF5
- 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version
- 6. Test that dependent applications function correctly after the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-33874 — 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-2024-33874 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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