CVE-2026-5442 | Heap Buffer Overflow in DICOM Image Decoder via VR UL Dimensions

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the DICOM image decoder. Dimension fields are encoded using Value Representation (VR) Unsigned Long (UL), instead of the expected VR Unsigned Short (US), which allows extremely large dimensions to be processed. This causes an integer overflow during frame size calculation and results in out-of-bounds memory access during image decoding.

Published: 2026-04-09 Last update: 2026-04-14 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-5442 is rated Moderate Risk (46/100): CVSS Critical severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.06%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-5442

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-15 0.02% 0.06% +0.04%
2 2026-04-10 — 0.02% —

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-5442

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-5442

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-5442

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-5442 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (orthanc), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 3, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-5442
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-5442 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (orthanc), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 8. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-5442

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-5442

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
orthanc-server orthanc < 1.12.11 cpe:2.3:a:orthanc-server:orthanc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-5442

URL Tags
https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/536588 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://www.machinespirits.de/ Not Applicable
https://www.orthanc-server.com/ Product
cvelogic Threat Intelligence