How severe is CVE-2025-48073?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2025-48073 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2025-48073?

CVE-2025-48073 affects the following packages: openexr (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2025-48073?

Update openexr to 3.3.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-48073 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2025-48073 in my PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openexr, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2025-48073 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2025-48073?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2025-48073 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is CVE-2025-48073 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2025-48073 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2025-48073?

CVE-2025-48073 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.2%, placing it in the 10th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2025-48073?

CVE-2025-48073 is classified as NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2025-48073 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2025-48073 was published on July 31, 2025 and was last updated on August 27, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐍 PyPI

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2025-48073 — openexr

CVE-2025-48073 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in openexr. A fix is available for openexr — see the affected versions and patch details below.

OpenEXR ScanLineProcess::run_fill NULL Pointer Write In "reduceMemory" Mode

Also known asGHSA-qhpm-86v7-phmmPYSEC-2026-1748

Published

Jul 31, 2025

Updated

Aug 27, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Sep 21, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-48073.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs10th percentile — riskier than 10% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐍openexr

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Summary

When reading a deep scanline image with a large sample count in reduceMemory mode, it is possible to crash a target application with a NULL pointer dereference in a write operation.

Details

In the ScanLineProcess::run_fill function, implemented in src/lib/OpenEXR/ImfDeepScanLineInputFile.cpp, the following code is used to write the fillValue in the sample buffer:

                switch (fills.type)
                {
                    case OPENEXR_IMF_INTERNAL_NAMESPACE::UINT:
                    {
                        unsigned int fillVal = (unsigned int) (fills.fillValue);
                        unsigned int* fillptr = static_cast<unsigned int*> (dest);

                        for ( int32_t s = 0; s < samps; ++s )
                            fillptr[s] = fillVal; // <--- POTENTIAL CRASH HERE
                        break;
                    }

However, when reduceMemory mode is enabled in the readDeepScanLine function in src/lib/OpenEXRUtil/ImfCheckFile.cpp, with large sample counts, the sample data will not be read, as shown below:

            // limit total number of samples read in reduceMemory mode
            //
            if (!reduceMemory ||
                fileBufferSize + bufferSize < gMaxBytesPerDeepScanline) // <--- CHECK ON LARGE SAMPLE COUNTS AND reduceMemory
            {
            // SNIP...
            try
                {
                    in.readPixels (y);
                }

Therefore, in those cases, the sample buffer would not be allocated, resulting in a potential write operation on a NULL pointer.

PoC

NOTE: please download the runfill_crash.exr file from the following link:

https://github.com/ShielderSec/poc/tree/main/CVE-2025-48073

Compile the exrcheck binary in a macOS or GNU/Linux machine with ASAN.
Open the runfill_crash.exr file with the following command:

exrcheck -m runfill_crash.exr

Notice that exrcheck crashes with ASAN stack-trace.

Impact

An attacker may cause a denial of service by crashing the application.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐍PyPI	`openexr`	≥ 3.3.2&&< 3.3.3	3.3.3`pip install --upgrade 'openexr==3.3.3'`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openexr, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update openexr to 3.3.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-48073 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2025-48073 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2025-48073. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Summary When reading a deep scanline image with a large sample count in `reduceMemory` mode, it is possible to crash a target application with a NULL pointer dereference in a write operation. ### Details In the `ScanLineProcess::run_fill` function, implemented in `src/lib/OpenEXR/ImfDeepScanLineInputFile.cpp`, the following code is used to write the `fillValue` in the sample buffer: ```cpp switch (fills.type) { case OPENEXR_IMF_INTERNAL_NAMESPACE::UINT: { unsigned int fillVal = (unsigned int

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2025-48073 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2025-48073 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works