# CVE-2025-48074: OpenEXR's Unbounded File Header Values can Lead to Out-Of-Memory Errors

> Attackers can cause out-of-memory errors and performance degradation by providing malicious EXR files with unvalidated header values.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 1 Aug 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2025-48074, GHSA-x22w-82jp-8rvf, PYSEC-2026-1749, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-48074, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-48074, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-48074

## What is CVE-2025-48074?

CVE-2025-48074 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Openexr Openexr, published on 1 Aug 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

OpenEXR provides the specification and reference implementation of the EXR file format, an image storage format for the motion picture industry. In version 3.3.2, applications trust unvalidated dataWindow size values from file headers, which can lead to excessive memory allocation and performance degradation when processing malicious files. This is fixed in version 3.3.3.

Weakness: CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-48074?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including openexr and OpenEXR. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `openexr` | PyPI | From 3.3.2 | 3.3.3 |
| `openexr` | PyPI | From 3.3.2 | 3.3.3 |
| `OpenEXR` | PyPI | From 3.3.2 | 3.3.3 |

Products: Openexr Openexr.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-48074?

Upgrade openexr to 3.3.3 or later.

## Is CVE-2025-48074 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-48074 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Openexr Openexr

- [CVE-2023-5841](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5841/): OpenEXR Heap Overflow in Scanline Deep Data Parsing (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-41142](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41142/): OpenEXR is Vulnerable to Integer overflow in ImageChannel::resize leads to heap OOB write via OpenEXRUtil public API (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-42216](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42216/): OpenEXR: Out-of-bounds read in `IDManifest::init()` during prefix expansion (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-9111](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9111/): OpenEXR invalid write (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-9113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9113/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-48074 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-48074 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Openexr Openexr, published on 1 Aug 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-48074 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- openexr (PyPI): affected from 3.3.2; fixed in 3.3.3
- openexr (PyPI): affected from 3.3.2; fixed in 3.3.3
- OpenEXR (PyPI): affected from 3.3.2; fixed in 3.3.3

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-2025-48074/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-48074/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-48074
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-48074
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-48074

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-48074/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.