CVE-2026-5444 Heap Buffer Overflow in PAM Image Buffer Allocation
An attacker can trigger a heap buffer overflow in Orthanc by sending a crafted DICOM file, potentially leading to code execution or service disruption.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-5444?
CVE-2026-5444 is a high-severity vulnerability in Orthanc DICOM Server, published on 9 Apr 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the PAM image parsing logic. When Orthanc processes a crafted PAM image embedded in a DICOM file, image dimensions are multiplied using 32-bit unsigned arithmetic. Specially chosen values can cause an integer overflow during buffer size calculation, resulting in the allocation of a small buffer followed by a much larger write operation during pixel processing.
Weakness: CWE-787
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-5444?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Orthanc-Server Orthanc.
How do I fix CVE-2026-5444?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-5444 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-5444 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Orthanc DICOM Server
- CVE-2026-5442 Heap Buffer Overflow in DICOM Image Decoder via VR UL Dimensions
- CVE-2026-5443 Heap Buffer Overflow in DICOM Image Decoder (Palette Color Decode)
- CVE-2025-0896 Orthanc Server Missing Authentication for Critical Function
- CVE-2026-5445 Out-of-Bounds Read in DicomImageDecoder (DecodeLookupTable)
- CVE-2023-33466 Path traversal in n/a
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-5444, GHSA-fpm7-vpjm-5gg2, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-5444.