CVE-2026-44031
Uncontrolled recursion in the DCMTK DICOM dataset parser allows unauthenticated remote denial of service
Description
Uncontrolled recursion in DcmSequenceOfItems::read() and DcmItem::read() in the dcmdata library of OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial of service (stack exhaustion and process crash) via a DICOM dataset containing deeply nested sequences (SQ elements). The dataset can be sent in a C-STORE request to storescp, dcmrecv, dcmqrscp, or any other DICOM service built on DCMTK, because the received dataset is parsed before any authentication takes place. Local tools such as dcmdump also crash when opening such a file. The issue is fixed in commit 885ff0f10372bd589b5f44cea974f28a3964cb0f, which adds a configurable sequence nesting depth limit (default 64).
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 8, 2026, 1:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 8, 2026, 1:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | MITRE-CVE | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c |
Solution
- Update the dcmdata library to include commit 885ff0f10372bd589b5f44cea974f28a3964cb0f.
- Configure a sequence nesting depth limit.
- Apply patches to affected DICOM services.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-44031.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/885ff0f10372bd589b5f44cea974f28a3964cb0f | |
| https://support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1191 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-44031 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-44031
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-44031 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-44031 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c
Oct. 08, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Uncontrolled recursion in DcmSequenceOfItems::read() and DcmItem::read() in the dcmdata library of OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial of service (stack exhaustion and process crash) via a DICOM dataset containing deeply nested sequences (SQ elements). The dataset can be sent in a C-STORE request to storescp, dcmrecv, dcmqrscp, or any other DICOM service built on DCMTK, because the received dataset is parsed before any authentication takes place. Local tools such as dcmdump also crash when opening such a file. The issue is fixed in commit 885ff0f10372bd589b5f44cea974f28a3964cb0f, which adds a configurable sequence nesting depth limit (default 64). Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/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 Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Added CWE CWE-674 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/44xxx/CVE-2026-44031.json">CVE-2026-44031</a> Added Reference https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/885ff0f10372bd589b5f44cea974f28a3964cb0f Added Reference https://support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1191