---
title: "CVE-2026-97059: DCMTK - Out of Bounds Read"
description: "DCMTK through 3.7.0 contains a heap over-read caused by improper validation of PixelData buffer length against declared NumberOfFrames in ConcatenationLoader, letting attackers crash the application or leak adjacent heap memory, exploit requires crafted malicious DICOM instances."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-97059/
---

# CVE-2026-97059 DCMTK - Out of Bounds Read

DCMTK through 3.7.0 contains a heap over-read caused by improper validation of PixelData buffer length against declared NumberOfFrames in ConcatenationLoader, letting attackers crash the application or leak adjacent heap memory, exploit requires crafted malicious DICOM instances.

CVSS base score 8.2 /10

High

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

Authentication

Not required

EPSS

0.35% chance of exploitation in 30 days

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97059)

## Details

Type

Out of Bounds Read

Impact

Denial Of Service, Information Disclosure

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H

Published

24 September 2026

Updated

15 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-125](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/125.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to a version later than 3.7.0 or the latest available version.

Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them.

## References

- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97059](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97059)
- [https://support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1281](https://support.dcmtk.org/redmine/issues/1281)
- [https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/dcmtk-through-3.7.0-heap-over-read-via-numberofframes](https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/dcmtk-through-3.7.0-heap-over-read-via-numberofframes)
- [https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk](https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk)
- [https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/blob/ccfd10b84ff3c9a40b7b331698aedf06d421fc43/dcmfg/libsrc/concatenationloader.cc#L334-L360](https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/blob/ccfd10b84ff3c9a40b7b331698aedf06d421fc43/dcmfg/libsrc/concatenationloader.cc#L334-L360)
- [https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/blob/ccfd10b84ff3c9a40b7b331698aedf06d421fc43/dcmfg/libsrc/concatenationloader.cc#L399-L430](https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/blob/ccfd10b84ff3c9a40b7b331698aedf06d421fc43/dcmfg/libsrc/concatenationloader.cc#L399-L430)
- [https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/18379d5b8d234977cc30644e9e70d76d89c87285](https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/18379d5b8d234977cc30644e9e70d76d89c87285)
- [https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/c33790827a192a598d20463af701a8b819f46ec1](https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/c33790827a192a598d20463af701a8b819f46ec1)

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## What this record can't tell you

- Whether you run the affected software, and where
- Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it
- The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number
- What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first

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