CVE-2026-120689 (GCVE-0-2026-120689)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-11-02 19:39 – Updated: 2026-11-02 19:52
VLAI
Title
Uncontrolled Recursion in HDF5 H5B__iterate_helper() via Crafted File
Summary
HDF5 through 2.2.0 contains an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in H5B__iterate_helper() in src/H5B.c. When iterating a version 1 B-tree, the function does not verify that a child node’s level matches the expected level. That check is performed only in H5B__cache_deserialize() when a node is first loaded into the metadata cache. A crafted HDF5 file whose B-tree child pointer refers back to a node already in the cache, such as a node that points to itself, bypasses the check and causes unbounded recursion, leading to stack exhaustion and a crash. This can be triggered by calling H5Gget_info() or H5Gget_num_objs() on a group in the crafted file, which reaches H5B_iterate() through H5G__obj_info() and H5G__stab_count(). An attacker who can get a user or application to open a malicious file can cause a denial of service.
Severity
4.3 (Medium)
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U
SSVC
Exploitation: none Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial
CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)
Decision recorded 2026-11-02 19:52 UTC
CWE
Assigner
HDFG CNA under the redhat root
CNA scorecard C 72/100 over 18 records in the last 180 days details
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
The HDF Group HDF5 Affected: <2.3.0 (custom)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Credits
Gabe Sherman
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

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