Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-11207 is a denial-of-service flaw in HDF5 1.10.2. A crafted HDF5 file can trigger a division by zero while chunked dataset metadata is initialized, potentially crashing software that parses it.
Executive priority
Prioritize if HDF5 files enter production workflows from outside the organization. Business impact is service interruption, not data theft based on the provided sources.
Technical view
The reported bug is in H5D__chunk_init in H5Dchunk.c in HDF5 1.10.2. The source bundle describes a division-by-zero condition and remote denial-of-service potential. Public proof-of-concept references exist, but no CVSS, CWE, patch, or detailed affected CPE data is provided.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in applications, services, data pipelines, or scientific platforms that parse HDF5 files from users, partners, or external sources using HDF5 1.10.2.
Exploitation context
The bundle references public proof-of-concept repositories, but does not show active exploitation. The CVE is not marked in KEV. Treat this as a crash-risk issue for systems accepting untrusted HDF5 input.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited: affected metadata is sparse, CVSS is absent, and no official fix is named in the bundle. Validate exact library versions and exposure paths before assigning urgency.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory software that uses HDF5 1.10.2.
- Check upstream or vendor guidance for supported remediation.
- Avoid unsandboxed processing of untrusted HDF5 files.
- Apply file parsing isolation and resource limits where feasible.
- Restrict HDF5 uploads to trusted sources where business allows.
Validation and detection
- Search dependencies and deployed binaries for HDF5 1.10.2.
- Identify services that accept HDF5 files from external users.
- Review crash logs for HDF5 parsing failures.
- Confirm vendor or upstream status for affected builds.
- Verify parsing workloads run with isolation and restart controls.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CVE-2018-11207 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/Twi1ight/fuzzing-pocs/tree/master/hdf5CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/SegfaultMasters/covering360/tree/master/HDF5#divided-by-zero---divbyzero__h5d_chunk_pocCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.