CVE-2026-59981 OpenEXR: Heap OOB read in SampleCountChannel row when using nonzero dataWindow
An attacker can cause a crash or leak heap memory by tricking an application into reading out-of-bounds sample counts from a malicious deep EXR file.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-59981?
CVE-2026-59981 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in AcademySoftwareFoundation openexr, published on 25 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
OpenEXR is the reference implementation and specification for the EXR image file format, widely used in the motion picture industry. In versions through 3.2.10, 3.3.0 through 3.3.12, and 3.4.0 through 3.4.13, the OpenEXRUtil library returns an out-of-bounds pointer from the SampleCountChannel::row() API when a deep image has a non-zero dataWindow origin. The row() accessor is documented as 0-based and computes its address from an internal base that is offset for absolute pixel coordinates, so the two coordinate models conflict whenever dataWindow.min is non-zero. For a deep image whose data window has a large negative vertical origin, row(0) points far outside the allocated sample-count buffer. An application that opens an attacker-controlled deep EXR file and accesses sample counts through row() performs an out-of-bounds read, which can crash the process or, under a controlled heap layout, return adjacent heap memory as sample-count values. This issue is fixed in versions 3.2.11, 3.3.13, and 3.4.14.
Weakness: CWE-125
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-59981?
How do I fix CVE-2026-59981?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-59981 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-59981 exists.
Sources
Also known as AZL-97631, BELL-CVE-2026-59981, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-59981, ECHO-5cd0-42c5-e641, GHSA-m799-ffc3-8pxc, MINI-47rr-pvw9-qvvv and 4 more.