CVE-2026-45696
HIGH 8.3 PoC AVAILABLEOpenEXR is the reference implementation and specification for the EXR image format, widely used in the motion picture industry. In versions 3.4.0 through 3.4.11, the HTJ2K (High-Throughput JPEG 2000) decoder, ht_undo_impl() in OpenEXRCore is vulnerable to a heap-buffer-overflow READ. The ht_undo_imp function copies decoded pixels out of a per-line OpenJPH buffer using the EXR channel's declared width as the iteration count. The codestream embedded in the EXR chunk can declare different (smaller) tile/line dimensions than the EXR header advertises, but ht_undo_impl() does not validate this — it pulls width 32-bit samples from cur_line->i32[] without checking the OpenJPH line buffer's actual length. A crafted EXR file produces a 4-byte heap-buffer-overflow READ immediately after a buffer allocated by ojph::local::codestream::finalize_alloc(). The bug is reachable through the standard scanline-decode entry point used by every consumer of exr_decoding_run/Imf::checkOpenEXRFile, including thumbnailers, asset pipelines, and the exrcheck utility — i.e. any application that opens untrusted EXR files. The result is a deterministic crash (DoS) and potential adjacent-heap leak. This issue has been fixed in version 3.4.12.
Public exploit or PoC code exists. Modeled probability is still low, but the barrier to attack is reduced — watch closely.
Exploitation likelihood
0.3%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 18th percentile
Impact if exploited
8.3CVSS 4.0 · HIGH
- ConfidentialityNone
- IntegrityNone
- AvailabilityHigh
What an attacker needs
- ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
- ⚠Privileges: Requires a low-privilege account
- ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
- ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable
- ✓Requirements: No special attack requirements
✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it
Proof of concept & exploit code
- reference https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr/security/advisories/GHSA-gjpj-qv64-vwhf
- github-search Search GitHub for public PoC repos
Test against your own equipment
curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-45696/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-45696/poc.json
Affected
Vendors Academysoftwarefoundation Red Hat Openexr
Products Openexr Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-122: : Heap-based Buffer Overflow
- CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read
CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H
Known Affected Software Configurations
| Vendor | Product | Version range |
|---|---|---|
| Openexr | Openexr | ≥ 3.4.0 and < 3.4.12 |
All CVSS metrics
- HIGH 8.3 v4.0 · CNA Primary
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H - HIGH 7.1 v3.1 · ADP Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H - HIGH 8.3 v4.0 · NVD Secondary
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - MEDIUM 6.5 v3.1 · NVD Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - HIGH 7.1 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H