CVE-2026-12480 Arbitrary HDF5 File Read via Virtual Dataset Bypass in keras-team/keras
Attackers can read arbitrary files from the victim's filesystem by crafting malicious Keras model files that exploit virtual dataset handling flaws.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-12480?
CVE-2026-12480 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in keras-team/keras, published on 1 Jul 2026. 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
Keras versions up to and including 3.13.2 are vulnerable to an arbitrary HDF5 file read due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2026-1669. The vulnerability resides in the `H5IOStore._verify_dataset()` and `file_editor.py` methods, which fail to check the `dataset.is_virtual` property of HDF5 datasets. This allows an attacker to craft a malicious `.keras` model archive or `.h5` weights file containing a Virtual Dataset (VDS) that references external HDF5 files on the victim's filesystem. When the victim loads the model using `keras.models.load_model()` or `keras.saving.load_model()`, the external file is transparently read, leading to potential information disclosure. Fixed in versions 3.12.2 and 3.14.1.
Weakness: CWE-73
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-12480?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including keras.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
keras PyPI | All versions | 3.12.3, 3.15.0 |
keras PyPI | All versions | 3.12.3 |
keras PyPI | All versions | 3.12.3 |
keras PyPI | From 3.13.0 | 3.15.0 |
keras PyPI | From 3.13.0 | 3.15.0 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-12480?
Upgrade keras to a fixed version for your release line: 3.12.3 or 3.15.0.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-12480 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-12480 exists.
Sources
Also known as AZL-92027, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-12480, GHSA-26c4-7vv6-867j, MINI-53c4-pr5f-8h8m, PYSEC-2026-3629, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-12480.