Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2020-37120

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Rubo DICOM Viewer 2.0 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the DICOM server name input field that allows attackers to overwrite Structured Exception Handler (SEH). Attackers can craft a malicious text file with carefully constructed payload to execute arbitrary code by overwriting SEH and triggering remote code execution.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Rubo DICOM Viewer 2.0 contains a stack-based buffer overflow in the DICOM server name input processing. When a user loads a malicious text file containing an overly long server name string, the overflow overwrites the Structured Exception Handler (SEH) record, allowing attackers to divert execution flow and achieve arbitrary code execution.

MitigationImplement strict input length validation and bounds checking on the server name field before copying to fixed-size buffers; replace unsafe string functions with bounded alternatives (e.g., strncpy, snprintf).

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Rubo DICOM Viewer installation
    Search for Rubo DICOM Viewer in installed programs (Windows: Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, or check Program Files directory for executable named 'RuboDicomViewer.exe' or similar)
    Affected if Rubo DICOM Viewer version 2.0 is installed on the system
  2. Confirm installed version number
    Right-click the executable, select Properties, then check the Details tab for File Version; or run the application and look in Help > About
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.0 or falls within the 2.0.x release line
  3. Check for DICOM server configuration
    Look for configuration files in the application data folder (commonly %APPDATA%\RuboDicomViewer\ or similar) for any stored server name entries; examine any .ini or .cfg files
    Affected if The application has stored DICOM server name configurations or has been used to connect to DICOM servers
  4. Inspect application logs for crash evidence
    Check application log files (often in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RuboDICOM Viewer\Logs or similar) for stack overflow or SEH overwrite error messages
    Affected if Logs contain error messages mentioning buffer overflow, stack corruption, or SEH record corruption related to server name processing

A user is affected if Rubo DICOM Viewer version 2.0 is installed and the DICOM server name feature has been used, as the buffer overflow only triggers when loading a malicious text file with an oversized server name string.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input length validation and bounds checking on the server name field before copying to fixed-size buffers; replace unsafe string functions with bounded alternatives (e.g., strncpy, snprintf).

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-37120 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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