GCVE-1988-2025-0004
Vulnerability from gna-1988 – Published: 2026-09-08 07:57 – Updated: 2026-09-08 07:57
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Bioformats v8.3.0 Untrusted Deserialization of Bio-Formats Memoizer Cache Files
Summary
Bio-Formats performs unsafe Java deserialization of attacker-controlled
memoization cache files (.bfmemo) during image processing. The
loci.formats.Memoizer class automatically loads and deserializes memo files
associated with images without validation, integrity checks, or trust
enforcement.
An attacker can exploit this behavior by supplying a crafted or corrupted
.bfmemo file—either fully attacker-controlled or derived from a legitimate
memo file—causing Bio-Formats to deserialize untrusted data. This can lead
to denial-of-service, logic manipulation, or remote code execution when
suitable gadget chains are present on the classpath.
*Impact:*
An attacker can:
* Trigger deserialization of untrusted data
* Cause repeated parsing failures (denial-of-service)
* Influence reader discovery and class loading
* Potentially achieve remote code execution when suitable gadget chains
exist
The vulnerability is reachable through standard image processing workflows
and does not require non-default configuration.
*Proof of Concept:*
Corrupting a Legitimate Memo File
This PoC demonstrates exploitation by modifying a legitimately generated
.bfmemo file, which closely mirrors a real-world attack scenario.
Step 1 – Generate a Valid Memo File
[Step 1/4] Creating valid TIFF image...
[+] Created valid.tif
[Step 2/4] Generating legitimate memo file...
[+] Memo created at: ./root/bioformats/.valid.tif.bfmemo
[+] Size: 34815 bytes
Step 2 – Corrupt the Existing Memo File
[Step 4/4] Corrupting memo file...
[+] Corrupted memo (appended 400 garbage bytes)
[+] Created symlink to memo file
Example Output
[*] Loading valid.tif with Memoizer...
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.URLReader
at loci.formats.ClassList.parseLine(ClassList.java:196)
at loci.formats.ClassList.parseFile(ClassList.java:258)
at loci.formats.Memoizer.<init>(Memoizer.java:540)
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.SlideBook6Reader
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.ScreenReader
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.ZarrReader
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException:
ch.epfl.biop.formats.in.ZeissQuickStartCZIReader
_______________________________________________
Sent through the Full Disclosure mailing list
https://nmap.org/mailman/listinfo/fulldisclosure
Web Archives & RSS: https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/
Severity
No CVSS data available.
Assigner
References
4 references
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://vuln.freearchive.org/archive/full-disclos… | technical-description |
| https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Jan/7 | technical-description |
| https://nmap.org/mailman/listinfo/fulldisclosure | |
| https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/ |
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| unknown | Bioformats |
Affected:
unknown
|
guessed |
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"product": "Bioformats",
"vendor": "unknown",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "unknown"
}
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"lang": "en",
"type": "finder",
"value": "Ron E"
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "Bio-Formats performs unsafe Java deserialization of attacker-controlled\nmemoization cache files (.bfmemo) during image processing. The\nloci.formats.Memoizer class automatically loads and deserializes memo files\nassociated with images without validation, integrity checks, or trust\nenforcement.\nAn attacker can exploit this behavior by supplying a crafted or corrupted\n.bfmemo file\u2014either fully attacker-controlled or derived from a legitimate\nmemo file\u2014causing Bio-Formats to deserialize untrusted data. This can lead\nto denial-of-service, logic manipulation, or remote code execution when\nsuitable gadget chains are present on the classpath.\n\n*Impact:*\nAn attacker can:\n* Trigger deserialization of untrusted data\n* Cause repeated parsing failures (denial-of-service)\n* Influence reader discovery and class loading\n* Potentially achieve remote code execution when suitable gadget chains\nexist\nThe vulnerability is reachable through standard image processing workflows\nand does not require non-default configuration.\n\n*Proof of Concept:*\nCorrupting a Legitimate Memo File\nThis PoC demonstrates exploitation by modifying a legitimately generated\n.bfmemo file, which closely mirrors a real-world attack scenario.\n\nStep 1 \u2013 Generate a Valid Memo File\n[Step 1/4] Creating valid TIFF image...\n[+] Created valid.tif\n\n[Step 2/4] Generating legitimate memo file...\n[+] Memo created at: ./root/bioformats/.valid.tif.bfmemo\n[+] Size: 34815 bytes\n\nStep 2 \u2013 Corrupt the Existing Memo File\n[Step 4/4] Corrupting memo file...\n[+] Corrupted memo (appended 400 garbage bytes)\n[+] Created symlink to memo file\n\nExample Output\n[*] Loading valid.tif with Memoizer...\n\njava.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.URLReader\nat loci.formats.ClassList.parseLine(ClassList.java:196)\nat loci.formats.ClassList.parseFile(ClassList.java:258)\nat loci.formats.Memoizer.\u003cinit\u003e(Memoizer.java:540)\n\njava.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.SlideBook6Reader\njava.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.ScreenReader\njava.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loci.formats.in.ZarrReader\njava.lang.ClassNotFoundException:\nch.epfl.biop.formats.in.ZeissQuickStartCZIReader\n_______________________________________________\nSent through the Full Disclosure mailing list\nhttps://nmap.org/mailman/listinfo/fulldisclosure\nWeb Archives \u0026 RSS: https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/"
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-08T07:57:41Z",
"orgId": "4e2abfbf-4a2a-4b76-a4e0-d77c18ba156c",
"shortName": "VULNARCHIVE"
},
"references": [
{
"tags": [
"technical-description"
],
"url": "https://vuln.freearchive.org/archive/full-disclosure/2026/Jan/7"
},
{
"tags": [
"technical-description"
],
"url": "https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Jan/7"
},
{
"url": "https://nmap.org/mailman/listinfo/fulldisclosure"
},
{
"url": "https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/"
}
],
"source": {
"defect": [
"https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Jan/7"
],
"discovery": "EXTERNAL"
},
"title": "Bioformats v8.3.0 Untrusted Deserialization of Bio-Formats Memoizer Cache Files",
"x_gcve": [
{
"recordType": "advisory",
"relationships": [],
"vulnId": "GCVE-1988-2025-0004",
"x_vulnarchive": {
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"assignerShortName": "VULNARCHIVE",
"datePublished": "2026-09-08T07:57:41Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-08T07:57:41Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED",
"vulnId": "GCVE-1988-2025-0004"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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