CVE-2021-20298Network attack vector

Application interruption via oversized B44 temporary buffer

Published Aug 23, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Uncontrolled resource consumption in OpenEXR before 3.0.0-beta allows attackers to interrupt applications processing crafted EXR files. B44Compressor sizes its unsigned-short temporary buffer with a byte count, allocating two bytes for each byte of uncompressed scanline data. An attacker must cause an application to process a crafted file; the oversized allocation can exhaust available memory and terminate or stall that application.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.54%
Next 30 days · Sep 17, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled resource consumption in OpenEXR before 3.0.0-beta allows attackers to interrupt applications processing crafted EXR files. B44Compressor sizes its unsigned-short temporary buffer with a byte count, allocating two bytes for each byte of uncompressed scanline data. An attacker must cause an application to process a crafted file; the oversized allocation can exhaust available memory and terminate or stall that application.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-20298
Published
Aug 23, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Academy Software Foundation
Product
OpenEXR
Classifications
CWE-400, CWE-787, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 23, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Fixed in OpenEXR 3.0.0-beta

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Academy Software Foundation · OpenEXRversion=Fixed in OpenEXR 3.0.0-beta

Published CVSS scores

7.5SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 11, 2026Sep 17, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 17, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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