# CVE-2026-62986: OpenEXR: PyOpenEXR deep prefixed RGB stale lane disclosure

> Attackers can expose uninitialized heap memory by crafting deep EXR files processed by PyOpenEXR, potentially leaking sensitive data.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** 25 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-62986, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-62986, GHSA-pf59-r2mc-x746, MINI-cm88-hvf9-rvxx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-62986

## What is CVE-2026-62986?

CVE-2026-62986 is a medium-severity 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 3.3.0 through 3.3.12 and 3.4.0 through 3.4.13, the PyOpenEXR Python bindings return stale heap data when reading a crafted deep scanline EXR that uses layer-prefixed RGB channels. With the default channel coalescing (separate_channels=False), the wrapper groups channels such as left.R, left.G, and left.B into a single RGB sample array, but the lane-offset calculation in PyPart::setDeepSliceData() only recognizes the exact unprefixed names G, B, and A. As a result, prefixed channels like left.G and left.B are decoded into lane 0 while lanes 1 and 2 are left uninitialized and returned to Python. A Python application that reads untrusted deep EXR files through the default OpenEXR.File API and then logs, serializes, previews, or otherwise processes the resulting NumPy sample arrays may expose uninitialized same-process heap contents, in addition to receiving incorrect green and blue channel data. This issue is fixed in versions 3.3.13 and 3.4.14.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource), CWE-457 (Use of Uninitialized Variable), CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-62986?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-62986?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-62986 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-62986 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-62986 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-62986 is a medium-severity 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: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-62986 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2026-62986/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-62986/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-62986
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-62986
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-62986

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-62986/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.