Uncontrolled recursion in the DCMTK bundled XML parser allows denial of service
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-44033 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | securin |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-10-08 13:17:17 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-08 21:10:00 UTC |
| Description | Uncontrolled recursion in XMLNode::ParseXMLElement() and XMLNode::emptyTheNode() in the bundled XML parser (ofstd/libsrc/ofxml.cc) of OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 allows an attacker to cause a denial of service (stack exhaustion and process crash) via a crafted XML document with deeply nested elements. The parser is reachable through dcmencap when encapsulating a CDA document, and through any application that calls OFXMLParser::parseFile() or OFXMLParser::parseString() on untrusted input. The issue is fixed in commit d12e350e687530eb41e2b0c860aff4d8c04e5941. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 6.8 MEDIUM from 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/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
EPSS: 0.001050000 probability, percentile 0.010130000 (date 2026-10-10)
Problem Types: CWE-674 | CWE-674 CWE-674 Uncontrolled Recursion
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | Secondary | 6.8 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 6.8 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | Secondary | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/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
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1214 | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | support.dcmtk.org | |
| github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/d12e350e687530eb41e2b0c860aff4d8c04e5941 | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Arjun Basnet from Securin (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-05-25T00:00:00.000Z | CVE ID shared with the vendor |
| CNA | 2026-05-24T00:00:00.000Z | Fix committed by the vendor |
| CNA | 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z | Vendor approved publication |
Solutions
CNA: Update to a DCMTK version that contains commit d12e350e687530eb41e2b0c860aff4d8c04e5941. As of the publication date, no tagged release after DCMTK 3.7.0 includes this fix, so apply the commit or build from the current master branch.