What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-17438?

CVE-2018-17438 has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 6.5 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 1.7%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2018-17438?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2018-17438. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 1.7%.

Hdf5 CVE-2018-17438

MEDIUM

Divide By Zero (CWE-369)

2018-09-24 cve@mitre.org

Denial Of Service Hdf5 Hdfgroup

6.5

CVSS 3.0 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-369 OWASP Top 10:2025 A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions ASVS 5.0 V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Division safety checks
Impact	CVSS score of 6.5 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the medium-severity affected system.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

No patch listed yet 1.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A SIGFPE signal is raised in the function H5D__select_io() of H5Dselect.c in the HDF HDF5 through 1.10.3 library during an attempted parse of a crafted HDF file, because of incorrect protection. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-369. A SIGFPE signal is raised in the function H5D__select_io() of H5Dselect.c in the HDF HDF5 through 1.10.3 library during an attempted parse of a crafted HDF file, because of incorrect protection against division by zero. It could allow a remote denial of service attack. Affected products include: Hdfgroup Hdf5. Version information: through 1.10.3.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

A SIGFPE signal is raised in the function H5D__select_io() of H5Dselect.c in the HDF HDF5 through 1.10.3 library during an attempted parse of a crafted HDF file, because of incorrect protection against division by zero. It could allow a remote denial of service attack.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

1.7%

Top 25% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 1.7%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +2

CVSS: +32

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service MEDIUM

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:hdfgroup:hdf5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*