CVE-2026-5440: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Orthanc DICOM Server
A memory exhaustion vulnerability exists in the HTTP server due to unbounded use of the `Content-Length` header. The server allocates memory directly based on the attacker supplied header value without enforcing an upper limit. A crafted HTTP request containing an extremely large `Content-Length` value can trigger excessive memory allocation and server termination, even without sending a request body.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability (CWE-770) in Orthanc DICOM Server involves unbounded memory allocation triggered by the Content-Length HTTP header. The server trusts the attacker-supplied Content-Length value and allocates memory accordingly without limits, leading to memory exhaustion and server termination. The vulnerability affects version 0 of the product. No CVSS score or vendor patch information is provided. The CERT advisory is available but does not specify remediation or patch status.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation can cause denial of service by exhausting server memory and terminating the Orthanc DICOM Server process. This disrupts availability of the DICOM service but does not indicate direct compromise of confidentiality or integrity. No known active exploits have been reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory at https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/536588 for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, consider limiting exposure of the affected server to untrusted networks and monitoring for anomalous HTTP requests with unusually large Content-Length headers.
CVE-2026-5440: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Orthanc DICOM Server
Description
A memory exhaustion vulnerability exists in the HTTP server due to unbounded use of the `Content-Length` header. The server allocates memory directly based on the attacker supplied header value without enforcing an upper limit. A crafted HTTP request containing an extremely large `Content-Length` value can trigger excessive memory allocation and server termination, even without sending a request body.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability (CWE-770) in Orthanc DICOM Server involves unbounded memory allocation triggered by the Content-Length HTTP header. The server trusts the attacker-supplied Content-Length value and allocates memory accordingly without limits, leading to memory exhaustion and server termination. The vulnerability affects version 0 of the product. No CVSS score or vendor patch information is provided. The CERT advisory is available but does not specify remediation or patch status.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation can cause denial of service by exhausting server memory and terminating the Orthanc DICOM Server process. This disrupts availability of the DICOM service but does not indicate direct compromise of confidentiality or integrity. No known active exploits have been reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory at https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/536588 for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, consider limiting exposure of the affected server to untrusted networks and monitoring for anomalous HTTP requests with unusually large Content-Length headers.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- certcc
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-02T19:22:26.410Z
- Cvss Version
- null
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/536588","vendor":"CERT"}]
Threat ID: 69d7bcce1cc7ad14dad7b6eb
Added to database: 4/9/2026, 2:50:54 PM
Last enriched: 4/9/2026, 3:06:16 PM
Last updated: 4/10/2026, 7:34:38 AM
Views: 7
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