diff --git a/src/bag_converter/include/header_stamp.hpp b/src/bag_converter/include/header_stamp.hpp
index 7ea4749..d63636a 100644
--- a/src/bag_converter/include/header_stamp.hpp
+++ b/src/bag_converter/include/header_stamp.hpp
@@ -56,11 +56,12 @@ inline const std::set<std::string> kTypesWithHeader = {
 };
 
 /**
- * @brief Extract header.stamp by deserializing the message.
+ * @brief Extract header.stamp directly from CDR-serialized bytes.
  *
- * For types in kTypesWithHeader, deserializes to the concrete message type and
- * returns header.stamp. Returns std::nullopt if the type is unsupported or
- * deserialization fails.
+ * For types in kTypesWithHeader (all have Header as first field), reads
+ * stamp.sec and stamp.nanosec from fixed CDR byte offsets without full
+ * deserialization. Returns std::nullopt if the type is unsupported, the
+ * buffer is too small, or the CDR encoding is not little-endian.
  */
 std::optional<rclcpp::Time> extract_header_stamp(
   const rcutils_uint8_array_t & serialized_data, const std::string & topic_type);
diff --git a/src/bag_converter/src/header_stamp.cpp b/src/bag_converter/src/header_stamp.cpp
index 5a808d9..74950a6 100644
--- a/src/bag_converter/src/header_stamp.cpp
+++ b/src/bag_converter/src/header_stamp.cpp
@@ -8,43 +8,25 @@
 
 #include "header_stamp.hpp"
 
-#include <rclcpp/serialization.hpp>
-#include <seyond/msg/seyond_scan.hpp>
-
-#include <can_msgs/msg/frame.hpp>
-#include <geometry_msgs/msg/accel_stamped.hpp>
-#include <geometry_msgs/msg/pose_stamped.hpp>
-#include <geometry_msgs/msg/twist_stamped.hpp>
-#include <geometry_msgs/msg/wrench_stamped.hpp>
-#include <nav_msgs/msg/odometry.hpp>
-#include <nebula_msgs/msg/nebula_packets.hpp>
-#include <oxts_msgs/msg/imu_bias.hpp>
-#include <oxts_msgs/msg/lever_arm.hpp>
-#include <oxts_msgs/msg/nav_sat_ref.hpp>
-#include <oxts_msgs/msg/ncom.hpp>
-#include <sensor_msgs/msg/camera_info.hpp>
-#include <sensor_msgs/msg/compressed_image.hpp>
-#include <sensor_msgs/msg/image.hpp>
-#include <sensor_msgs/msg/imu.hpp>
-#include <sensor_msgs/msg/laser_scan.hpp>
-#include <sensor_msgs/msg/nav_sat_fix.hpp>
-#include <sensor_msgs/msg/point_cloud2.hpp>
+#include <cstring>
 
 namespace bag_converter
 {
-namespace
-{
-
-template <typename MsgT>
-std::optional<rclcpp::Time> deserialize_header_stamp(rclcpp::SerializedMessage & serialized_msg)
-{
-  MsgT msg;
-  rclcpp::Serialization<MsgT> ser;
-  ser.deserialize_message(&serialized_msg, &msg);
-  return rclcpp::Time(msg.header.stamp);
-}
 
-}  // namespace
+// CDR layout for messages where std_msgs/msg/Header is the first field:
+//   Bytes 0-1: CDR representation identifier (0x00 0x01 = CDR little-endian)
+//   Bytes 2-3: CDR options (usually 0x00 0x00)
+//   Bytes 4-7: header.stamp.sec   (int32_t)
+//   Bytes 8-11: header.stamp.nanosec (uint32_t)
+//
+// All types in kTypesWithHeader have Header as their first field, so this
+// fixed-offset read is valid for all of them. This avoids full message
+// deserialization, which is critical for large messages (e.g., Image).
+
+static constexpr size_t kCdrHeaderSize = 4;
+static constexpr size_t kStampSecOffset = kCdrHeaderSize;
+static constexpr size_t kStampNanosecOffset = kCdrHeaderSize + sizeof(int32_t);
+static constexpr size_t kMinBufferSize = kStampNanosecOffset + sizeof(uint32_t);  // 12 bytes
 
 std::optional<rclcpp::Time> extract_header_stamp(
   const rcutils_uint8_array_t & serialized_data, const std::string & topic_type)
@@ -52,56 +34,24 @@ std::optional<rclcpp::Time> extract_header_stamp(
   if (kTypesWithHeader.find(topic_type) == kTypesWithHeader.end()) {
     return std::nullopt;
   }
-  try {
-    rclcpp::SerializedMessage serialized_msg(serialized_data);
-    // sensor_msgs
-    if (topic_type == "sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<sensor_msgs::msg::CameraInfo>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<sensor_msgs::msg::CompressedImage>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "sensor_msgs/msg/Imu")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<sensor_msgs::msg::Imu>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "sensor_msgs/msg/Image")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<sensor_msgs::msg::Image>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "sensor_msgs/msg/LaserScan")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<sensor_msgs::msg::LaserScan>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "sensor_msgs/msg/NavSatFix")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<sensor_msgs::msg::NavSatFix>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "sensor_msgs/msg/PointCloud2")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<sensor_msgs::msg::PointCloud2>(serialized_msg);
-    // geometry_msgs
-    if (topic_type == "geometry_msgs/msg/AccelStamped")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<geometry_msgs::msg::AccelStamped>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "geometry_msgs/msg/PoseStamped")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<geometry_msgs::msg::PoseStamped>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "geometry_msgs/msg/TwistStamped")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<geometry_msgs::msg::TwistStamped>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "geometry_msgs/msg/WrenchStamped")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<geometry_msgs::msg::WrenchStamped>(serialized_msg);
-    // nav_msgs
-    if (topic_type == "nav_msgs/msg/Odometry")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<nav_msgs::msg::Odometry>(serialized_msg);
-    // can_msgs
-    if (topic_type == "can_msgs/msg/Frame")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<can_msgs::msg::Frame>(serialized_msg);
-    // oxts_msgs
-    if (topic_type == "oxts_msgs/msg/ImuBias")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<oxts_msgs::msg::ImuBias>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "oxts_msgs/msg/LeverArm")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<oxts_msgs::msg::LeverArm>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "oxts_msgs/msg/NavSatRef")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<oxts_msgs::msg::NavSatRef>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "oxts_msgs/msg/Ncom")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<oxts_msgs::msg::Ncom>(serialized_msg);
-    // LiDAR packet types
-    if (topic_type == "nebula_msgs/msg/NebulaPackets")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<nebula_msgs::msg::NebulaPackets>(serialized_msg);
-    if (topic_type == "seyond/msg/SeyondScan")
-      return deserialize_header_stamp<seyond::msg::SeyondScan>(serialized_msg);
-  } catch (...) {
+
+  if (serialized_data.buffer_length < kMinBufferSize) {
+    return std::nullopt;
+  }
+
+  const uint8_t * buf = serialized_data.buffer;
+
+  // Verify CDR little-endian encoding (0x00 0x01)
+  if (buf[0] != 0x00 || buf[1] != 0x01) {
     return std::nullopt;
   }
-  return std::nullopt;
+
+  int32_t sec;
+  uint32_t nanosec;
+  std::memcpy(&sec, buf + kStampSecOffset, sizeof(sec));
+  std::memcpy(&nanosec, buf + kStampNanosecOffset, sizeof(nanosec));
+
+  return rclcpp::Time(sec, nanosec);
 }
 
 }  // namespace bag_converter