# 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.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 28 Aug 2026
- **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, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-59981, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-59981, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-59981, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-59981

## 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 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-59981?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-59981?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-59981 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-59981 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-59981 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-59981 exists.

Affected product: AcademySoftwareFoundation openexr. 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-2026-59981/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-59981/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-59981
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59981
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-59981

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-59981/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.