Vulnerability · Published Aug 25, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-59981OpenEXR: Heap OOB read in SampleCountChannel row when using nonzero dataWindow
High 7.1
In plain English
A high-severity out-of-bounds read in openexr from AcademySoftwareFoundation. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.3% (higher than 25% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
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.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux:8 | OpenEXR-devel | 2.2.0-12.el8_10.3 | ALSA-2026:82345 |
| AlmaLinux:8 | OpenEXR-libs | 2.2.0-12.el8_10.3 | ALSA-2026:82345 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | openexr | 3.1.10-8.el10_2.5 | ALSA-2026:84796 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | openexr-devel | 3.1.10-8.el10_2.5 | ALSA-2026:84796 |
| AlmaLinux:9 | openexr-devel | 3.1.1-3.el9_8.5 | ALSA-2026:86983 |
| AlmaLinux:10 | openexr-libs | 3.1.10-8.el10_2.5 | ALSA-2026:84796 |
| Alpine:v3.24 | openexr | 3.4.15-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-59981 |
| Debian:12 | openexr | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-59981 |
| Debian:13 | openexr | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-59981 |
| Debian:14 | openexr | 3.4.14-0.1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-59981 |
| Rocky Linux:8 | OpenEXR | 0:2.2.0-12.el8_10.3 | RLSA-2026:82345 |
| Rocky Linux:10 | openexr | 0:3.1.10-8.el10_2.5 | RLSA-2026:84796 |
| Rocky Linux:9 | openexr | 0:3.1.1-3.el9_8.5 | RLSA-2026:86983 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | openexr | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-59981 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| AcademySoftwareFoundation | openexr | < 3.2.11>= 3.3.0, < 3.3.13>= 3.4.0, < 3.4.14 |
Weakness: CWE-125 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
References
- https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr/security/advisories/GHSA-m799-ffc3-8pxc x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr/commit/37f03b6ed90f3dd9910f31de3a40f25f2bc2aca1 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr/commit/55b7958ecb5ac32c427ff39c1e063f6f7bbee77c x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr/commit/aef02224ba282a802de65d16c49c1cdb82089dec x_refsource_MISC