Local process crash via unchecked address-length decode
Published Jun 23, 2025 · Updated Jun 23, 2025
Heap buffer overflow in HDF5 1.14.0 through 1.14.6 allows local users to crash a consuming process with a crafted HDF5 file. H5F_addr_decode_len trusts addr_len and advances its input pointer while decoding bytes without verifying that the heap buffer contains that length. Exploitation requires a local user to cause an application to open the crafted file; the public reproducer demonstrates an out-of-bounds read and process termination, not code execution.
Summary
What happened
Heap buffer overflow in HDF5 1.14.0 through 1.14.6 allows local users to crash a consuming process with a crafted HDF5 file. H5F_addr_decode_len trusts addr_len and advances its input pointer while decoding bytes without verifying that the heap buffer contains that length. Exploitation requires a local user to cause an application to open the crafted file; the public reproducer demonstrates an out-of-bounds read and process termination, not code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-6516
- Published
- Jun 23, 2025
- Updated
- Jun 23, 2025
- Vendor
- The HDF Group
- Product
- HDF5
- Classifications
- CWE-119, CWE-122
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 23, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 23, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=1.14.0
- Affected versionversion=1.14.1
- Affected versionversion=1.14.2
- Affected versionversion=1.14.3
- Affected versionversion=1.14.4
- Affected versionversion=1.14.5
- Affected versionversion=1.14.6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- HDF5 issue 5581 reproducerproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo