CVE-2025-2310: HDF5 Heap Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2025-2310 Overview

A critical heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability has been identified in HDF5 version 1.14.6. This vulnerability exists within the H5MM_strndup function of the Metadata Attribute Decoder component. When processing specially crafted HDF5 files, the function fails to properly validate input boundaries, allowing an attacker with local access to trigger a heap-based buffer overflow condition. The exploit has been publicly disclosed and proof-of-concept documentation is available.

Critical Impact

Local attackers can exploit this heap-based buffer overflow to potentially corrupt memory, crash applications, or achieve arbitrary code execution on systems processing malicious HDF5 files.

Affected Products

• HDF5 version 1.14.6
• Applications and libraries that depend on HDF5 1.14.6 for data storage and processing
• Scientific computing environments using vulnerable HDF5 installations

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-03-14 - CVE-2025-2310 published to NVD
• 2025-05-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-2310

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-787) that occurs in the H5MM_strndup function within HDF5's Metadata Attribute Decoder. The issue falls under the broader category of improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer (CWE-119). When the Metadata Attribute Decoder processes attribute data from an HDF5 file, insufficient boundary checking in the string duplication function allows memory to be written beyond the allocated heap buffer.

HDF5 (Hierarchical Data Format version 5) is widely used in scientific computing, machine learning, and data analytics applications for storing large amounts of numerical data. The vulnerability requires local access to exploit, meaning an attacker must be able to supply a malicious HDF5 file to a vulnerable application or have direct access to the target system.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in improper memory bounds validation within the H5MM_strndup function. When processing metadata attributes from HDF5 files, the function allocates a heap buffer based on input parameters but fails to adequately verify that subsequent write operations remain within the allocated boundaries. This allows carefully crafted metadata attributes to trigger writes beyond the intended buffer, corrupting adjacent heap memory.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local access to the target system. An attacker must craft a malicious HDF5 file containing specially manipulated metadata attributes designed to exploit the boundary checking weakness in H5MM_strndup. When a vulnerable application opens and processes this malicious file, the heap-based buffer overflow is triggered. The exploitation chain involves:

1. Creating an HDF5 file with malformed metadata attribute structures
2. Delivering the malicious file to a system running vulnerable HDF5 1.14.6
3. Triggering the vulnerability when the file is processed by any application using the vulnerable HDF5 library

Technical details and proof-of-concept documentation are available in the GitHub PoC Documentation. Additional vulnerability information can be found at VulDB #299723.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-2310

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected application crashes when processing HDF5 files, particularly with segmentation fault errors
• Memory corruption indicators in application logs related to HDF5 file operations
• Anomalous HDF5 files with unusually structured or oversized metadata attributes
• Evidence of heap corruption in debugging outputs from HDF5-dependent applications

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for crashes and abnormal terminations in applications that process HDF5 files
• Implement file integrity checking for HDF5 files before processing in critical workflows
• Deploy memory protection tools such as AddressSanitizer (ASan) during development and testing
• Use static analysis tools to identify potentially vulnerable HDF5 usage patterns in application code

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for HDF5 file processing operations across scientific computing infrastructure
• Configure crash reporting mechanisms to capture and alert on HDF5-related application failures
• Implement anomaly detection for file operations involving HDF5 format in data processing pipelines
• Monitor system memory usage patterns during HDF5 file processing for signs of exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-2310

Immediate Actions Required

• Audit systems to identify all installations of HDF5 version 1.14.6
• Restrict access to systems that process untrusted HDF5 files until patches are available
• Implement strict input validation for HDF5 files from untrusted sources
• Consider isolating HDF5 file processing in sandboxed environments

Patch Information

The HDF Group, the vendor responsible for HDF5, has acknowledged this vulnerability and plans to address it in an upcoming release. Organizations should monitor HDF Group announcements for the security patch and apply it immediately upon availability. No official patch hash or specific version fix is currently available in the CVE data.

For the latest information, refer to VulDB CTI ID #299723 and official HDF Group communications.

Workarounds

• Validate HDF5 files from untrusted sources before processing using third-party validation tools
• Implement application-level sandboxing when processing HDF5 files to contain potential exploitation
• Restrict file permissions to prevent unauthorized users from introducing malicious HDF5 files
• Consider downgrading to a previous stable release if confirmed unaffected, pending vendor guidance

# Configuration example - Restrict HDF5 file processing permissions
# Limit access to HDF5 processing utilities to trusted users only
chmod 750 /path/to/hdf5/bin/*
chown root:trusted_users /path/to/hdf5/bin/*

# Enable core dumps for crash analysis
ulimit -c unlimited
echo "/var/crash/core.%e.%p" > /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern