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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20298: A flaw was found in OpenEXR's B44Compressor.

A flaw was found in OpenEXR's B44Compressor. This flaw allows an attacker who can submit a crafted file to be processed by OpenEXR, to exhaust all memory accessible to the application. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to system availability.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

OpenEXR can be forced to consume all available application memory when processing a specially crafted file. The main business risk is service outage in workflows that import or render EXR images, especially where outside users can upload media.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted availability risk. Patch promptly where EXR files come from external or semi-trusted sources; handle as lower urgency for isolated systems processing only trusted internal assets.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20298 is a CWE-400 resource exhaustion flaw in OpenEXR's B44Compressor. The provided record says an attacker able to submit a crafted file for OpenEXR processing can exhaust memory available to the application. Upstream identifies the issue as fixed in OpenEXR 3.0.0-beta.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in applications, media pipelines, or servers that process OpenEXR files from users, partners, or automated ingest sources. Systems using distro-packaged OpenEXR should verify whether vendor backports include the upstream fix.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires getting a crafted EXR file processed by software linked to vulnerable OpenEXR. The impact described is availability loss, not code execution or data theft.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to resource exhaustion in B44Compressor, CWE-400, and upstream/vendor references. No CVSS vector is provided in the bundle. Avoid assuming broader product impact beyond OpenEXR consumers that process crafted files.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor OpenEXR security updates or versions containing the upstream fix.
  • Prioritize systems that process untrusted or externally supplied EXR files.
  • Check Red Hat, Debian, or applicable vendor advisories for backported fixes.
  • Restrict untrusted EXR ingestion until affected systems are updated.
  • Use resource isolation for media processing services where practical.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory OpenEXR library and package versions across image-processing systems.
  • Confirm whether deployed builds include the upstream fix or vendor backport.
  • Identify upload, render, conversion, or preview paths that accept EXR files.
  • Review vendor advisories for environment-specific affected package status.
  • Verify media workers have memory limits appropriate for availability protection.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-400: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-20298 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

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.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
7Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/aOpenEXRFixed in OpenEXR 3.0.0-betaListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-400

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-400 · source CWE mapping

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs