CVE-2026-44036
Uncontrolled recursion in DCMTK xml2dcm allows denial of service
Description
Uncontrolled mutual recursion between DcmXMLParseHelper::parseDataSet() and DcmXMLParseHelper::parseSequence() in the XML-to-DICOM converter (dcmdata/libdcxml/xml2dcm.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 file with deeply nested sequence and item elements. The xml2dcm tool and any service that converts untrusted XML to DICOM with this code are affected. The issue is fixed in commit 87f256d73e30656a822bf7d76d1cf1d9bb693954.
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 | MEDIUM | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 33c584b5-0579-4c06-b2a0-8d8329fcab9c |
Solution
- Apply the fix from commit 87f256d73e30656a822bf7d76d1cf1d9bb693954.
- Update to a non-vulnerable DCMTK version.
- Avoid processing untrusted XML files with affected versions.
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-2026-44036.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/87f256d73e30656a822bf7d76d1cf1d9bb693954 | |
| https://support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1224 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-44036 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-2026-44036
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-2026-44036 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-44036 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 mutual recursion between DcmXMLParseHelper::parseDataSet() and DcmXMLParseHelper::parseSequence() in the XML-to-DICOM converter (dcmdata/libdcxml/xml2dcm.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 file with deeply nested sequence and item elements. The xml2dcm tool and any service that converts untrusted XML to DICOM with this code are affected. The issue is fixed in commit 87f256d73e30656a822bf7d76d1cf1d9bb693954. Added CVSS V4.0 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 Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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-2026-44036.json">CVE-2026-44036</a> Added Reference https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/87f256d73e30656a822bf7d76d1cf1d9bb693954 Added Reference https://support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1224