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CVE-2026-44031

Uncontrolled recursion in the DCMTK DICOM dataset parser allows unauthenticated remote denial of service

8.7 High

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).

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

0.39%Unchanged since Oct 9, 2026
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 8.7

Uncontrolled recursion in the DCMTK DICOM dataset parser allows unauthenticated remote denial of service

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).

Record
CVE-2026-44031
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-674
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-94935 8.7

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).

Record
EUVD-2026-94935
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-hxvw-37gr-vg44 8.7

Uncontrolled recursion in DcmSequenceOfItems::read() and DcmItem::read() in the dcmdata library...

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).

Record
GHSA-hxvw-37gr-vg44
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/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
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-674
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 8.7

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).

Record
CVE-2026-44031
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/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
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-674
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 8.7

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).

Record
CVE-2026-44031
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/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
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2026-44031 8.7

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).

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-44031
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/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
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-44031 8.7

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).

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-44031
CVSS 4.0
8.7 HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
dcmtk
Debian:12
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.7-113.6.7-123.6.7-133.6.7-143.6.7-15
Show 35 moreShow less
3.6.7-83.6.7-93.6.7-9.13.6.7-9~deb12u13.6.7-9~deb12u23.6.7-9~deb12u33.6.7-9~deb12u43.6.8-13.6.8-23.6.8-33.6.8-43.6.8-53.6.8-63.6.8-73.6.8~git20221024.b8950f9-13.6.8~git20221024.b8950f9-23.6.8~git20221024.b8950f9-33.6.8~git20231027.1549d8c-13.6.8~git20231027.1549d8c-23.6.9-13.6.9-23.6.9-33.6.9-43.6.9-53.6.9-63.7.0+really3.6.9-13.7.0+really3.7.0-0+exp13.7.0+really3.7.0-13.7.0+really3.7.0-23.7.0+really3.7.0-33.7.0+really3.7.0-43.7.0+really3.7.0-53.7.0+really3.7.0-63.7.0+really3.7.0-73.7.0-1
 None known
dcmtk
Debian:13
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.9-53.6.9-5+deb13u13.6.9-5+deb13u23.6.9-5+deb13u33.6.9-6
Show 10 moreShow less
3.7.0+really3.6.9-13.7.0+really3.7.0-0+exp13.7.0+really3.7.0-13.7.0+really3.7.0-23.7.0+really3.7.0-33.7.0+really3.7.0-43.7.0+really3.7.0-53.7.0+really3.7.0-63.7.0+really3.7.0-73.7.0-1
 None known
dcmtk
Debian:14
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.9-53.6.9-63.7.0+really3.6.9-13.7.0+really3.7.0-0+exp13.7.0+really3.7.0-1
Show 7 moreShow less
3.7.0+really3.7.0-23.7.0+really3.7.0-33.7.0+really3.7.0-43.7.0+really3.7.0-53.7.0+really3.7.0-63.7.0+really3.7.0-73.7.0-1
 None known
dcmtk
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.0-15.13.6.1~20150629-53.6.1~20150924-43.6.1~20150924-53.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm13.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm23.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm3
 None known
dcmtk
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.2-23.6.2-2build13.6.2-33.6.2-3build13.6.2-3build2
Show 4 moreShow less
3.6.2-3build33.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm13.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm23.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm3
 None known
dcmtk
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.4-2.13.6.4-2.1build13.6.4-2.1build23.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1~esm13.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.13.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1+esm13.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.23.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.2+esm1
 None known
dcmtk
Ubuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.5-13.6.6-3ubuntu13.6.6-3ubuntu23.6.6-43.6.6-53.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm13.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm2
 None known
dcmtk
Ubuntu:Pro:24.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.7-93.6.7-9.1build23.6.7-9.1build33.6.7-9.1build43.6.7-9.1ubuntu0.1~esm1
 None known
dcmtk
Ubuntu:26.10
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.7.0+really3.6.9-13.7.0+really3.7.0-23.7.0+really3.7.0-53.7.0+really3.7.0-63.7.0+really3.7.0-7ubuntu1
 None known
dcmtk
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
 All versions, plus listed versions
3.6.9-5build13.6.9-63.7.0+really3.6.9-1
 None known

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2026-44031 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.7) in Offis Dcmtk, published October 8, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.39%, the 33rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

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