CVE-2026-12480: Arbitrary HDF5 File Read via Virtual Dataset Bypass in keras-team/keras

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-07-01 · updated 2026-10-25
Weakness: CWE-73

Description

Keras versions up to and including 3.13.2 are vulnerable to an arbitrary HDF5 file read due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2026-1669. The vulnerability resides in the `H5IOStore._verify_dataset()` and `file_editor.py` methods, which fail to check the `dataset.is_virtual` property of HDF5 datasets. This allows an attacker to craft a malicious `.keras` model archive or `.h5` weights file containing a Virtual Dataset (VDS) that references external HDF5 files on the victim's filesystem. When the victim loads the model using `keras.models.load_model()` or `keras.saving.load_model()`, the external file is transparently read, leading to potential information disclosure. Fixed in versions 3.12.2 and 3.14.1.

Affected products

keras-team/keras: before 3.12.2, 3.14.1 — fixed in 3.14.1, 3.12.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: keras-team/keras 3.14.1, 3.12.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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