Heap Buffer Overflow in DICOM Image Decoder (Palette Color Decode)
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists during the decoding of `PALETTE COLOR` DICOM images. Pixel length validation uses 32-bit multiplication for width and height calculations. If these values overflow, the validation check incorrectly succeeds, allowing the decoder to read and write to memory beyond allocated buffers.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-5443
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x69c-qfxw-mhm7
- 2026-10-25 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile
References
More Orthanc vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-00759 Orthanc Server Missing Authentication for Critical Function CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.2
- TI-2026-04765 Heap Buffer Overflow in DICOM Image Decoder via VR UL Dimensions CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2023-16538 Orthanc before 1.12.0 allows authenticated users with access to the Orthanc API to… CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-04768 Out-of-Bounds Read in DicomImageDecoder (DecodeLookupTable) CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-04763 Memory Exhaustion via Unbounded Content-Length CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-04760 Out-of-Bounds Read in DicomStreamReader CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-5443 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-5443 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x69c-qfxw-mhm7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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