Uncontrolled recursion in DCMTK JSON reader allows denial of service
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-44037 |
|---|---|
| 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 mutual recursion between DcmJSONReader::parseDataSet(), DcmJSONReader::parseElement() and DcmJSONReader::parseSequence() in dcmdata/libsrc/dcjsonrd.cc of OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 allows an attacker to cause a denial of service (stack exhaustion and process crash) via a crafted DICOM JSON document with deeply nested sequence (SQ) values. The json2dcm tool and any service that converts untrusted DICOM JSON (for example, DICOMweb payloads) with this reader are affected. The issue is fixed in commit cf955e64c35a1e07ba10698f639d5dcdec53b9d7. |
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 0.010120000 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/cf955e64c35a1e07ba10698f639d5dcdec53b9d7 | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | github.com | |
| support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1225 | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | support.dcmtk.org | |
| 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 | 2026-06-17T00:00:00.000Z | 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 cf955e64c35a1e07ba10698f639d5dcdec53b9d7. 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.