CVE-2021-41687
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for...
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
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
What each source reports
NVD Score used
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
- Record
CVE-2021-41687- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
- Record
CVE-2021-41687- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-28699 No score
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
- Record
EUVD-2021-28699- Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-342m-fmj9-855c
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for...
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
- Record
GHSA-342m-fmj9-855c- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
- Record
CVE-2021-41687- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2021-41687
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2021-41687- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 5 moreShow less
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2021-41687
DCMTK through 3.6.6 does not handle memory free properly. The program malloc a heap memory for parsing data, but does not free it when error in parsing. Sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program incur the memory leak. An attacker can use it to launch a DoS attack.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2021-41687- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2023-0083 No score
Updated dcmtk packages fix security vulnerability
Jinsheng Ba discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain requests. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2021-41687, CVE-2021-41688, CVE-2021-41689, and CVE-2021-41690)
Sharon Brizinov and Noam Moshe discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2022-2119 and CVE-2022-2120)
Sharon Brizinov and Noam Moshe discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled pointers. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2022-2121)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2022-43272)
- Record
MGASA-2023-0083- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-5882-1 No score
dcmtk vulnerabilities
Gjoko Krstic discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled buffers. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. (CVE-2015-8979)
Omar Ganiev discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled buffers. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. (CVE-2019-1010228)
Jinsheng Ba discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain requests. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2021-41687, CVE-2021-41688, CVE-2021-41689, and CVE-2021-41690)
Sharon Brizinov and Noam Moshe discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2022-2119 and CVE-2022-2120)
Sharon Brizinov and Noam Moshe discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled pointers. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2022-2121)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 22.10. (CVE-2022-43272)
- Record
USN-5882-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-7010-1 No score
dcmtk vulnerabilities
Jinsheng Ba discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain requests. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2021-41687, CVE-2021-41688, CVE-2021-41689, CVE-2021-41690)
Sharon Brizinov and Noam Moshe discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled pointers. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2022-2121)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2022-43272)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. This issue was only addressed in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2024-28130)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled memory when processing an invalid incoming DIMSE message. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2024-34508, CVE-2024-34509)
- Record
USN-7010-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-7010-2 No score
dcmtk regression
USN-7010-1 fixed vulnerabilities in DCMTK. The update introduced a regression. This update fixes the problem.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
Original advisory details:
Jinsheng Ba discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain requests. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2021-41687, CVE-2021-41688, CVE-2021-41689, CVE-2021-41690)
Sharon Brizinov and Noam Moshe discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled pointers. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2022-2121)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2022-43272)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into opening a certain specially crafted input file, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code. This issue was only addressed in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. (CVE-2024-28130)
It was discovered that DCMTK incorrectly handled memory when processing an invalid incoming DIMSE message. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2024-34508, CVE-2024-34509)
- Record
USN-7010-2- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
dcmtkDebian:12 |
before 3.6.7-1 | 3.6.7-1 |
dcmtkDebian:13 |
before 3.6.7-1 | 3.6.7-1 |
dcmtkDebian:14 |
before 3.6.7-1 | 3.6.7-1 |
dcmtkDebian:10 From an advisory covering 9 CVEs |
before 3.6.4-2.1+deb10u1, plus listed versions 3.6.4-2.1 |
3.6.4-2.1+deb10u1 |
dcmtkDebian:11 From an advisory covering 11 CVEs |
before 3.6.5-1+deb11u1, plus listed versions 3.6.5-1 |
3.6.5-1+deb11u1 |
dcmtkMageia:8 From an advisory covering 8 CVEs |
before 3.6.5-3.1.mga8 | 3.6.5-3.1.mga8 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS |
before 3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.0-15.13.6.1~20150629-53.6.1~20150924-43.6.1~20150924-5 |
3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
before 3.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm3, plus listed versions 3.6.2-23.6.2-2build13.6.2-33.6.2-3build13.6.2-3build23.6.2-3build33.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm13.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm2 |
3.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm3 |
dcmtkUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
before 3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions 3.6.4-2.13.6.4-2.1build13.6.4-2.1build2 |
3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
before 3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.4-2.13.6.4-2.1build13.6.4-2.1build2 |
3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
Show 12 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS |
before 3.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.5-13.6.6-3ubuntu13.6.6-3ubuntu23.6.6-43.6.6-5 |
3.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS From an advisory covering 10 CVEs |
before 3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.0-15.13.6.1~20150629-53.6.1~20150924-43.6.1~20150924-5 |
3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS From an advisory covering 10 CVEs |
before 3.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.2-23.6.2-2build13.6.2-33.6.2-3build13.6.2-3build23.6.2-3build3 |
3.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS From an advisory covering 10 CVEs |
before 3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.4-2.13.6.4-2.1build13.6.4-2.1build2 |
3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS From an advisory covering 10 CVEs |
before 3.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.5-13.6.6-3ubuntu13.6.6-3ubuntu23.6.6-43.6.6-5 |
3.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS From an advisory covering 9 CVEs |
before 3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm2, 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~esm1 |
3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm2 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS From an advisory covering 9 CVEs |
before 3.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm2, plus listed versions 3.6.2-23.6.2-2build13.6.2-33.6.2-3build13.6.2-3build23.6.2-3build33.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
3.6.2-3ubuntu0.1~esm2 |
dcmtkUbuntu:20.04:LTS From an advisory covering 9 CVEs |
before 3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions 3.6.4-2.13.6.4-2.1build13.6.4-2.1build2 |
3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS From an advisory covering 9 CVEs |
before 3.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm2, plus listed versions 3.6.5-13.6.6-3ubuntu13.6.6-3ubuntu23.6.6-43.6.6-53.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
3.6.6-5ubuntu0.1~esm2 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:24.04:LTS From an advisory covering 9 CVEs |
before 3.6.7-9.1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 3.6.7-93.6.7-9.1build23.6.7-9.1build33.6.7-9.1build4 |
3.6.7-9.1ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
dcmtkUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS |
before 3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm3, 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~esm2 |
3.6.1~20150924-5ubuntu0.1~esm3 |
dcmtkUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
before 3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.2, plus listed versions 3.6.4-2.13.6.4-2.1build13.6.4-2.1build23.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.1 |
3.6.4-2.1ubuntu0.2 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-41687 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Offis Dcmtk, published June 28, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.84%, the 79th percentile. Fixed in dcmtk 3.6.7-1.
References
github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/06/msg00022.html
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41687
Show 23 moreShow less
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-41687
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2023-0083.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=30790
dicom.offis.de/download/dcmtk/dcmtk367/ANNOUNCE
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/2Z7WVDK43MKWOS23BIN4VCQRQRXHGSDB
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-5882-1
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-41687