CVE-2020-36855 DCMTK dcmqrscp parseQuota stack-based overflow

Medium 4.8 Published 21 Oct 2025 Updated 21 Oct 2025

A stack-based buffer overflow in DCMTK's dcmqrscp allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2020-36855?

CVE-2020-36855 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in DCMTK, published on 21 Oct 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A security vulnerability has been detected in DCMTK up to 3.6.5. The affected element is the function parseQuota of the component dcmqrscp. The manipulation of the argument StorageQuota leads to stack-based buffer overflow. Local access is required to approach this attack. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. Upgrading to version 3.6.6 is sufficient to fix this issue. The identifier of the patch is 0fef9f02e. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Weakness: CWE-121, CWE-119

Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36855?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Offis Dcmtk.

How do I fix CVE-2020-36855?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2020-36855 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-36855 exists.

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2020-36855, GHSA-7w2m-w84v-g952, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-36855.