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NetcdfApplication · Unidata

CVE-2025-14934

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2025-12-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
NSF Unidata NetCDF-C Variable Name Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of NSF Unidata NetCDF-C. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of variable names. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current user. Was ZDI-CAN-27267.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow in NetCDF-C library's variable name parsing due to lack of proper length validation before copying user-supplied data to a fixed-size stack buffer. This allows remote code execution when a user opens a malicious NetCDF file.

MitigationApply vendor patches when available; avoid opening untrusted NetCDF files until patched; implement input validation on variable name lengths before parsing.

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
NetcdfApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 NetCDF-C installation
    Run 'nc-config --version' or 'nc-config --all' to display installed NetCDF version and library paths. On systems without nc-config, check for libnetcdf.so files with 'ldconfig -p | grep netcdf' or 'find /usr -name "libnetcdf*" 2>/dev/null'.
    Affected if NetCDF-C library is present on the system and processes untrusted NetCDF files.
  2. Determine if NetCDF tools are used
    Check for netCDF utilities in common paths: 'which ncgen', 'which ncdump', 'which ncview'. Review any custom applications that link against NetCDF using 'ldd your_application | grep netcdf' or by inspecting build configurations.
    Affected if Any application or tool that opens NetCDF files is potentially affected.
  3. Review file processing workflows
    Audit any automated or manual workflows that involve opening NetCDF files from untrusted sources. Search for scripts or services that call netCDF open functions like nc_open, nc_open_par, or NC_open.
    Affected if The system processes NetCDF files from external or untrusted sources without prior validation.
  4. Check for vulnerable code path access
    The vulnerability triggers during variable name parsing when a NetCDF file is opened. There is no simple runtime flag to disable this; the flaw is in the core library parsing logic. Confirm the library version by examining the shared object: 'ls -la /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnetcdf.so*' or equivalent path for your system.
    Affected if Any version of NetCDF-C is loaded and used to open files.

If NetCDF-C library is installed and the system or its applications open NetCDF files, the environment is affected since all versions are vulnerable to this stack-based buffer overflow during variable name parsing.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patches when available; avoid opening untrusted NetCDF files until patched; implement input validation on variable name lengths before parsing.

Fix this in Netcdf 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-2025-14934 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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