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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-120689: HDF5 through 2.2.0 contains an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in H5B__iterate_helper() in

Affects hdf5Source GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-120689· Medium 4.3

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium.

Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 12:37 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
4.3Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none
CVSS scores by source
CNA (HDFG)CVSS 4.04.3
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

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 2 Nov 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 26.10hdf5pkg:deb/ubuntu/hdf5?arch=source&distro=stonkingOther threatsAffected
  • =1.14.6+repack-2
  • =2.2.0+repack-4
  • =2.2.0+repack-5
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTShdf5pkg:deb/ubuntu/hdf5?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • =1.14.5+repack-3build1
  • =1.14.5+repack-4
  • =1.14.6+repack-2
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTShdf5pkg:deb/ubuntu/hdf5?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 1.10.8+repack1-1ubuntu1 – 1.10.10+repack-3ubuntu1
4 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 22.04 LTShdf5pkg:deb/ubuntu/hdf5?arch=source&distro=jammyOther threatsAffected
  • =1.10.6+repack-5
  • =1.10.7+repack-4ubuntu1
  • =1.10.7+repack-4ubuntu2
Fixed in–
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTShdf5pkg:deb/ubuntu/hdf5?arch=source&distro=esm-apps/focalOther threatsAffected
  • 1.10.4+repack-10 – 1.10.4+repack-11ubuntu1+esm1
4 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTShdf5pkg:deb/ubuntu/hdf5?arch=source&distro=esm-apps/bionicOther threatsAffected
  • =1.10.0-patch1+docs-4
  • =1.10.0-patch1+docs-4ubuntu0.1~esm1
  • =1.10.0-patch1+docs-4ubuntu0.1~esm2
Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Until a fix is available, avoid opening untrusted or unverified HDF5 files to mitigate risk.

Description

HDF5 versions through 2.2.0 contain an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in the H5B__iterate_helper() function. This flaw occurs when iterating a version 1 B-tree where a child node’s level is not properly verified, allowing crafted files with self-referential B-tree nodes to cause unbounded recursion. Triggering this vulnerability via certain API calls results in stack exhaustion and application crashes, leading to denial of service.

References

Community reviews

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