HDF5 through 2.2.0 contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in H5HL_unprotect() in src/H5HL.c. H5HL_protect() pins a single metadata cache entry for a local heap, either the heap prefix or the separate data block, and H5HL_unprotect() unpins it on the final unprotect. When the metadata cache destroys a corrupted local heap entry, H5HL__prfx_dest() unlinks it from the heap by setting heap->prfx or heap->dblk to NULL. A crafted HDF5 file can therefore reach H5HL_unprotect() with no cached object to unpin, and the function passes the NULL pointer to H5AC_unpin_entry(). This causes an assertion failure in debug builds and a NULL pointer dereference and crash in release builds. An attacker who can get a user or application to open and traverse a malicious file can cause a denial of service.
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Affected Vendors & Products
References
| Link | Providers |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/HDFGroup/hdf5/pull/6377 |
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History
Tue, 03 Nov 2026 15:45:00 +0000
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| Description | HDF5 through 2.2.0 contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in H5HL_unprotect() in src/H5HL.c. H5HL_protect() pins a single metadata cache entry for a local heap, either the heap prefix or the separate data block, and H5HL_unprotect() unpins it on the final unprotect. When the metadata cache destroys a corrupted local heap entry, H5HL__prfx_dest() unlinks it from the heap by setting heap->prfx or heap->dblk to NULL. A crafted HDF5 file can therefore reach H5HL_unprotect() with no cached object to unpin, and the function passes the NULL pointer to H5AC_unpin_entry(). This causes an assertion failure in debug builds and a NULL pointer dereference and crash in release builds. An attacker who can get a user or application to open and traverse a malicious file can cause a denial of service. | |
| Title | NULL Pointer Dereference in H5HL_unprotect via Corrupted File | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-476 | |
| References |
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cvssV4_0
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: HDFG
Published: 2026-11-03T15:38:09.387Z
Updated: 2026-11-03T15:38:09.387Z
Reserved: 2026-11-02T21:30:12.341Z
Link: CVE-2026-120758
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