CVE-2026-17574 NULL Pointer Dereference in HDF5 via Invalid Variable-Length Datatype Type Tag

Medium 5.2 Published 27 Jul 2026 Updated 27 Jul 2026

An attacker can cause a denial of service by tricking a user into opening a crafted HDF5 file with an invalid variable-length datatype.

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-2026-17574?

CVE-2026-17574 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Hdfgroup Hdf5, published on 27 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

HDF5 contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability. Processing a crafted HDF5 file containing an attribute with an invalid variable-length datatype type field may cause the application to crash when the attribute is read.

Weakness: CWE-617, CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-17574?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Hdfgroup Hdf5.

How do I fix CVE-2026-17574?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-17574 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-17574 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Hdfgroup Hdf5 vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as AZL-94019, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-17574, ECHO-8c91-0553-6384, GHSA-cv7r-692h-j9fh, JLSEC-2026-1386, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-17574.