CVE-2026-44038: CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read in OFFIS DCMTK
Description
CVE-2026-44038 is a medium severity vulnerability in OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 involving an out-of-bounds read in the Huffman decoder of bundled IJG JPEG libraries. It occurs when decompressing crafted JPEG DICOM files with Huffman tables defining difference categories above 15. This can cause memory reads beyond certain internal tables, leading to incorrect pixel data decoding or application crashes. The flaw exists because Huffman symbol values are not range-checked by default unless a strict check is enabled. The issue affects dcmdjpeg and any application using DCMTK for JPEG DICOM decompression. A fix has been committed to address this vulnerability.
CVSS v4.0
Score 4.8medium
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
An out-of-bounds read vulnerability (CWE-125) exists in the Huffman decoder of the IJG JPEG libraries bundled with OFFIS DCMTK version 3.7.0. The vulnerability arises when processing a DICOM file containing a crafted JPEG stream whose Huffman table specifies a difference category greater than 15. Because Huffman symbol values are not range-checked unless DCMTK is built with the DCMTK_ENABLE_STRICT_HUFFMAN_TABLE_CHECK option (disabled by default), an attacker can cause the decoder to read memory beyond the extend_test[] and extend_offset[] tables. This results in incorrectly decoded pixel data or a crash. The affected components include dcmdjpeg and any application decompressing JPEG DICOM images with DCMTK. The issue is fixed in commit d6ae1bc8d5b9ae9c7300013c8c85cc2ea0fd8cf5.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause out-of-bounds memory reads during JPEG DICOM image decompression, potentially leading to corrupted pixel data or application crashes. There is no indication of privilege escalation or remote code execution. The CVSS score of 4.8 reflects a medium impact with local attack vector and low complexity.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available as indicated by the referenced commit d6ae1bc8d5b9ae9c7300013c8c85cc2ea0fd8cf5. Users should update DCMTK to a version including this fix. Alternatively, building DCMTK with the DCMTK_ENABLE_STRICT_HUFFMAN_TABLE_CHECK option enabled can mitigate the issue by enforcing range checks on Huffman symbol values. No other specific mitigations are indicated.
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: 6ac794de2cdf04f6561753d2
Added to database: 10/08/2026, 13:04:30 UTC
Last enriched: 10/08/2026, 13:18:37 UTC
Last updated: 10/08/2026, 13:19:31 UTC
Views: 4
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