Grassroots DICOM (GDCM)

MonitorCVSS 6.6ICS-CERT ICSMA-25-345-01Dec 11, 2025
Attack path
Attack VectorLocal
Auth RequiredNone
ComplexityLow
User InteractionRequired
Summary

A buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-787) in DICOM file parsing allows an attacker to craft a malicious DICOM medical image file. If opened by an application using Grassroots DICOM (GDCM), SimpleITK, or medInria, the vulnerability causes application crash and denial of service. The vulnerability affects GDCM versions 3.0.24 and earlier, SimpleITK version 2.5.2 and earlier, and medInria version 4.0 and earlier.

What this means
What could happen
An attacker could craft a malicious DICOM medical image file that, when opened, crashes the application, disrupting diagnostic workflows or analysis that depends on the software.
Who's at risk
Healthcare IT staff and medical imaging facilities using GDCM, SimpleITK, or medInria for DICOM image processing and analysis. This affects diagnostic workstations, image management systems, and any software that processes DICOM files sourced from potentially untrusted origins.
How it could be exploited
An attacker creates a crafted DICOM file and tricks a user into opening it. When the application processes the malicious file, a memory corruption flaw (CWE-787 buffer overflow) causes the application to crash, resulting in denial of service.
Prerequisites
  • User must open or process a malicious DICOM file
  • DICOM file must be crafted to trigger the vulnerability during parsing
  • No network access required—this is a local file parsing vulnerability
Low complexityNo authentication requiredUser interaction required (file must be opened)Default DICOM file handling vulnerableNo patch available for SimpleITK and medInria
Exploitability
Unlikely to be exploited — EPSS score 0.0%
Affected products (3)
1 with fix2 pending
ProductAffected VersionsFix Status
SimpleITK: <=2.5.2≤ 2.5.2No fix yet
medInria: <=4.0≤ 4.0No fix yet
Grassroots DICOM (GDCM): <=3.0.24≤ 3.0.243.2.2+
Remediation & Mitigation
0/3
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/2

Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption

Grassroots DICOM (GDCM): <=3.0.24
HOTFIXUpdate Grassroots DICOM (GDCM) to version 3.2.2 or later
All products
HOTFIXContact vendors of SimpleITK and medInria for patched versions addressing this vulnerability
Long-term hardening
0/1
HARDENINGRestrict access to DICOM file sources and establish procedures to validate DICOM files before opening them in production workflows
API: /api/v1/advisories/4618c6a1-ce7d-4c4a-a49b-21c80b32c3f0

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