CVE-2025-2357VulnerabilityPublished 17 Mar 2025Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-2357: DCMTK · Memory Corruption

Affects DCMTKSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 38% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Passive
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low
Vulnerable system integrity: Low
Vulnerable system availability: Low
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Passive: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires limited interaction by the targeted user with the vulnerable system and the attacker’s payload. These interactions would be considered involuntary and do not require that the user actively subvert protections built into the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the Vulnerable System are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Mar 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
DCMTK	Affected =3.6.9	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Immediately apply the official patch identified by commit 3239a7915 to all DCMTK 3.6.9 deployments to remediate the vulnerability. 2. Restrict network access to systems running DCMTK services, limiting exposure to trusted internal networks and authorized users only. 3. Implement strict input validation and scanning of all incoming DICOM files to detect and block malformed or suspicious JPEG-LS encoded images. 4. Employ network intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with signatures tuned to detect exploitation attempts targeting DCMTK vulnerabilities. 5. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments on medical imaging infrastructure to identify unpatched or misconfigured systems. 6. Educate healthcare IT staff about the risks associated with processing untrusted DICOM files and encourage cautious handling of external imaging data. 7. Monitor system logs and application behavior for anomalies indicative of exploitation attempts, such as crashes or unexpected memory errors. 8. Coordinate with medical device vendors and software providers to ensure timely updates and security patches are applied across all related systems. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on network segmentation, input validation, and proactive monitoring tailored to the medical imaging context.

Description

A vulnerability was found in DCMTK 3.6.9. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component dcmjpls JPEG-LS Decoder. The manipulation leads to memory corruption. The attack can be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The name of the patch is 3239a7915. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue.

Impact

For European organizations, particularly those in the healthcare sector, this vulnerability poses risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive medical imaging data. Exploitation could lead to denial of service conditions, disrupting critical diagnostic workflows and impacting patient care. In worst-case scenarios, memory corruption might be leveraged for remote code execution, potentially allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to healthcare systems or exfiltrate protected health information (PHI). Given the reliance on DCMTK in many European hospitals and medical imaging centers, unpatched systems could become targets for attackers seeking to disrupt healthcare operations or conduct espionage. The medium CVSS score suggests moderate but non-negligible risk, emphasizing the need for timely patching. Additionally, the public availability of exploit code increases the likelihood of opportunistic attacks. The impact extends beyond healthcare providers to any organization processing DICOM images with DCMTK, including research institutions and medical device manufacturers. Disruption or compromise of these systems could have cascading effects on patient safety, regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR), and organizational reputation.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 21:08 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats