CVE-2026-44037: CWE-674 Uncontrolled Recursion in OFFIS DCMTK
Description
CVE-2026-44037 is a medium severity vulnerability in OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 caused by uncontrolled mutual recursion in JSON parsing functions. This flaw allows denial of service via crafted DICOM JSON documents with deeply nested sequences, leading to stack exhaustion and process crashes. The issue affects the json2dcm tool and any service converting untrusted DICOM JSON using this reader. A fix has been implemented in a specific commit.
CVSS v4.0
Score 6.8medium
Affected software
OFFIS
DCMTK
cpe:2.3:a:offis:dcmtk:3.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*Run on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability arises from uncontrolled mutual recursion between DcmJSONReader::parseDataSet(), parseElement(), and parseSequence() in the dcjsonrd.cc source file of OFFIS DCMTK version 3.7.0. An attacker can exploit this by submitting a specially crafted DICOM JSON document containing deeply nested sequence (SQ) values, causing stack exhaustion and crashing the process. This impacts the json2dcm tool and any service that processes untrusted DICOM JSON payloads, such as DICOMweb services. The issue has been addressed in commit cf955e64c35a1e07ba10698f639d5dcdec53b9d7.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation results in denial of service due to stack exhaustion and process crash when parsing maliciously crafted deeply nested DICOM JSON sequences. There is no indication of privilege escalation, data disclosure, or code execution. The impact is limited to availability disruption of the affected tool or service.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available and has been implemented in commit cf955e64c35a1e07ba10698f639d5dcdec53b9d7. Users of OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0, especially those using the json2dcm tool or services converting untrusted DICOM JSON, should apply this fix to prevent denial of service. No other mitigation guidance is provided or necessary.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- securin
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-05T02:49:00.667Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6ac794de2cdf04f6561753d1
Added to database: 10/08/2026, 13:04:30 UTC
Last enriched: 10/08/2026, 13:18:43 UTC
Last updated: 10/08/2026, 13:19:31 UTC
Views: 4
Community Reviews
0 reviewsCrowdsource mitigation strategies, share intel context, and vote on the most helpful responses. Sign in to add your voice and help keep defenders ahead.
Want to contribute mitigation steps or threat intel context? Sign in or create an account to join the community discussion.
Actions
Updates to AI analysis require Pro Console access. Upgrade inside Console → Billing.
Need more coverage?
Upgrade to Pro Console for AI refresh and higher limits.
For incident response and remediation, OffSeq services can help resolve threats faster.
Latest Threats
Check if your credentials are on the dark web
Instant breach scanning across billions of leaked records. Free tier available.