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.
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Affected Vendors & Products
References
| Link | Providers |
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| https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/issues/6403 |
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History
Mon, 02 Nov 2026 21:00:00 +0000
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Hdfgroup
Hdfgroup hdf5 |
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| Weaknesses | CWE-665 | |
| Vendors & Products |
Hdfgroup
Hdfgroup hdf5 |
Mon, 02 Nov 2026 20:30:00 +0000
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| Weaknesses | CWE-674 | |
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ssvc
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Mon, 02 Nov 2026 19:45:00 +0000
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| Description | 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. | |
| Title | Uncontrolled Recursion in HDF5 H5B__iterate_helper() via Crafted File | |
| References |
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| Metrics |
cvssV4_0
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: HDFG
Published: 2026-11-02T19:39:28.327Z
Updated: 2026-11-02T19:52:35.578Z
Reserved: 2026-11-02T19:32:16.362Z
Link: CVE-2026-120689
Updated: 2026-11-02T19:52:31.981Z
Status : Received
Published: 2026-11-02T20:17:41.020
Modified: 2026-11-02T20:17:41.020
Link: CVE-2026-120689
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