# CVE-2018-13868: Memory corruption in n/a

> A heap-based buffer over-read in the HDF5 library allows attackers to cause denial of service or disclose sensitive memory contents.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g7p7-gj79-f7gp, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-13868

## What is CVE-2018-13868?

CVE-2018-13868 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Hdfgroup Hdf5, published on 10 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in the HDF HDF5 1.8.20 library. There is a heap-based buffer over-read in the function H5O_fill_old_decode in H5Ofill.c.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-13868?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Hdfgroup Hdf5.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-13868?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-13868 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-13868 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-13868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Hdfgroup Hdf5

- [CVE-2024-32608](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-32608/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-29157](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-29157/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-29159](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-29159/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-29164](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-29164/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-32611](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-32611/): Other in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-13868 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-13868 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Hdfgroup Hdf5, published on 10 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-13868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Hdfgroup Hdf5. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-13868/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-13868/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-13868
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-13868
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-13868

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-13868/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.