CVE-2026-120689: HDF5 through 2.2.0 contains an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in H5B__iterate_helper() in
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium : upgrade to 2.3.0 when convenient.
Data as of 2 Nov 2026, 23:15 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (HDFG) | CVSS 4.0 | 4.3 |
|---|
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 2.3.0
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:UExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 2 Nov 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 2 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade HDF5 to 2.3.0.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| The HDF GroupHDF5 | Affected
| Fixed in
|
AI-suggested
If you cannot patch yet, avoid opening untrusted or suspicious HDF5 files to mitigate risk.
Description
HDF5 versions through 2.2.0 have an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability in the H5B__iterate_helper() function. This occurs when iterating a version 1 B-tree where a crafted file can cause a child node to point back to itself or a previously cached node, bypassing level checks and causing unbounded recursion. Triggering this vulnerability via functions like H5Gget_info() or H5Gget_num_objs() leads to stack exhaustion and application crash, resulting in denial of service.