CVE-2026-120689
Uncontrolled Recursion in HDF5 H5B__iterate_helper() via Crafted File
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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Passive
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
4.3
Uncontrolled Recursion in HDF5 H5B__iterate_helper() via Crafted File
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-120689- CVSS 4.0
- 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 - Weakness
- CWE-674
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-115545
4.3
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.
- Record
EUVD-2026-115545- CVSS 4.0
- 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 - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-6384-wh38-r9pf
4.3
HDF5 through 2.2.0 contains an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in H5B__iterate_helper() in...
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.
- Record
GHSA-6384-wh38-r9pf- CVSS 4.0
- 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/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - Weakness
- CWE-674
- Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
4.3
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-120689- CVSS 4.0
- 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/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - Weakness
- CWE-674
- Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSV
4.3
Uncontrolled Recursion in HDF5 H5B__iterate_helper() via Crafted File
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-120689- CVSS 4.0
- 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 - Updated
- 2026-11-07
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-120689
4.3
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.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-120689- CVSS 4.0
- 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/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - Updated
- 2026-11-04
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-120689
4.3
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.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120689- CVSS 4.0
- 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 - Updated
- 2026-11-05
OSVAZL-112526 No score
CVE-2026-120689 affecting package hdf5 1.14.6-6
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.
- Record
AZL-112526- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
hdf5Azure Linux:3 |
through 1.14.6-6 | None known |
hdf5Debian:12 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.10.10+repack-11.10.10+repack-21.10.10+repack-31.10.10+repack-3.11.10.10+repack-3.2 Show 45 moreShow less1.10.10+repack-3.2+ports1.10.10+repack-3.31.10.10+repack-41.10.10+repack-51.10.8+repack1-11.12.0+repack-1~exp11.12.0+repack-1~exp21.12.2+repack-1~exp11.14.3+repack-1~exp11.14.3+repack1-1~exp21.14.3+repack1-1~exp31.14.4.3+repack-1~exp11.14.4.3+repack-1~exp21.14.4.3+repack-1~exp31.14.5+repack-11.14.5+repack-1~exp11.14.5+repack-1~exp21.14.5+repack-1~exp31.14.5+repack-1~exp41.14.5+repack-1~exp51.14.5+repack-1~exp61.14.5+repack-21.14.5+repack-31.14.5+repack-3.11.14.5+repack-3~exp11.14.5+repack-3~exp21.14.5+repack-3~exp31.14.5+repack-3~exp41.14.5+repack-41.14.5+repack-4~exp11.14.5+repack-4~exp21.14.5+repack-5~exp21.14.5+repack-5~exp31.14.6+repack-11.14.6+repack-1~exp11.14.6+repack-1~exp101.14.6+repack-1~exp111.14.6+repack-1~exp121.14.6+repack-1~exp131.14.6+repack-1~exp141.14.6+repack-1~exp151.14.6+repack-1~exp161.14.6+repack-1~exp171.14.6+repack-1~exp181.14.6+repack-1~exp19 |
None known |
hdf5Debian:13 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.14.5+repack-31.14.5+repack-3.11.14.5+repack-41.14.5+repack-4~exp11.14.5+repack-4~exp2 Show 42 moreShow less1.14.5+repack-5~exp21.14.5+repack-5~exp31.14.6+repack-11.14.6+repack-1~exp11.14.6+repack-1~exp101.14.6+repack-1~exp111.14.6+repack-1~exp121.14.6+repack-1~exp131.14.6+repack-1~exp141.14.6+repack-1~exp151.14.6+repack-1~exp161.14.6+repack-1~exp171.14.6+repack-1~exp181.14.6+repack-1~exp191.14.6+repack-1~exp21.14.6+repack-1~exp201.14.6+repack-1~exp211.14.6+repack-1~exp31.14.6+repack-1~exp41.14.6+repack-1~exp51.14.6+repack-1~exp61.14.6+repack-1~exp71.14.6+repack-1~exp81.14.6+repack-1~exp91.14.6+repack-21.14.6+repack-3~exp12.1.0+repack-12.1.0+repack-1~exp102.1.0+repack-1~exp112.1.0+repack-1~exp32.1.0+repack-1~exp42.1.0+repack-1~exp52.1.0+repack-1~exp62.1.0+repack-1~exp72.1.0+repack-1~exp82.1.0+repack-1~exp92.2.0+repack-12.2.0+repack-22.2.0+repack-32.2.0+repack-42.2.0+repack-52.2.0+repack-6 |
None known |
hdf5Debian:14 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.14.5+repack-31.14.5+repack-3.11.14.5+repack-41.14.5+repack-4~exp11.14.5+repack-4~exp2 Show 42 moreShow less1.14.5+repack-5~exp21.14.5+repack-5~exp31.14.6+repack-11.14.6+repack-1~exp11.14.6+repack-1~exp101.14.6+repack-1~exp111.14.6+repack-1~exp121.14.6+repack-1~exp131.14.6+repack-1~exp141.14.6+repack-1~exp151.14.6+repack-1~exp161.14.6+repack-1~exp171.14.6+repack-1~exp181.14.6+repack-1~exp191.14.6+repack-1~exp21.14.6+repack-1~exp201.14.6+repack-1~exp211.14.6+repack-1~exp31.14.6+repack-1~exp41.14.6+repack-1~exp51.14.6+repack-1~exp61.14.6+repack-1~exp71.14.6+repack-1~exp81.14.6+repack-1~exp91.14.6+repack-21.14.6+repack-3~exp12.1.0+repack-12.1.0+repack-1~exp102.1.0+repack-1~exp112.1.0+repack-1~exp32.1.0+repack-1~exp42.1.0+repack-1~exp52.1.0+repack-1~exp62.1.0+repack-1~exp72.1.0+repack-1~exp82.1.0+repack-1~exp92.2.0+repack-12.2.0+repack-22.2.0+repack-32.2.0+repack-42.2.0+repack-52.2.0+repack-6 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.8.11-3ubuntu11.8.11-5ubuntu11.8.11-5ubuntu21.8.11-5ubuntu61.8.11-5ubuntu71.8.11-5ubuntu7.11.8.11-5ubuntu7.1+esm11.8.11-5ubuntu7.1+esm2 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.8.15-patch1+docs-41.8.15-patch1+docs-51.8.16+docs-11.8.16+docs-21.8.16+docs-3 Show 6 moreShow less1.8.16+docs-3ubuntu11.8.16+docs-41.8.16+docs-4ubuntu11.8.16+docs-4ubuntu1.11.8.16+docs-4ubuntu1.1+esm11.8.16+docs-4ubuntu1.1+esm2 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.10.0-patch1+docs-41.10.0-patch1+docs-4ubuntu0.1~esm11.10.0-patch1+docs-4ubuntu0.1~esm2 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.10.4+repack-101.10.4+repack-111.10.4+repack-11ubuntu11.10.4+repack-11ubuntu1+esm1 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.10.6+repack-51.10.7+repack-4ubuntu11.10.7+repack-4ubuntu2 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.10.8+repack1-1ubuntu11.10.10+repack-3ubuntu11.10.10+repack-3.1ubuntu31.10.10+repack-3.1ubuntu4 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.14.6+repack-22.2.0+repack-42.2.0+repack-5 |
None known |
hdf5Ubuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.14.5+repack-3build11.14.5+repack-41.14.6+repack-2 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, aliases, references | OSV | |
| facts | NVD | |
| affected, aliases, references | OSV | |
| references | OSV | |
| aliases, products, published | EUVD | |
| aliases, references | GitHub Advisories, NVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-120689 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.3) in Hdfgroup Hdf5, published November 2, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.18%, the 7th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/issues/6403
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-120689
github.com/advisories/GHSA-6384-wh38-r9pf
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/120xxx/CVE-2026-120689.json
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-120689
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-120689
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-120689
Left out here: 28 versions. The JSON record has them.