CVE-2022-2120
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 · uneditedOFFIS DCMTK's (All versions prior to 3.6.7) service class user (SCU) is vulnerable to relative path traversal, allowing an attacker to write DICOM files into arbitrary directories under controlled names. This could allow 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 confidenceOFFIS DCMTK's Service Class User (SCU) component contains a relative path traversal vulnerability in versions prior to 3.6.7. Attackers can manipulate file paths to write DICOM files into arbitrary directories using attacker-controlled filenames, which can lead to remote code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 3.6.7CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify DCMTK installation and versionRun 'dcmtk-config --version' or check binary version strings (e.g., 'storescu --version', 'movescu --version') in your environmentAffected if The reported version is less than 3.6.7
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Locate SCU components in useIdentify which Service Class User tools are deployed: common DCMTK SCU binaries include storescu, movescu, gets cu, findscu, and echosc. Check for these binaries in your system PATH or application directoriesAffected if Any DCMTK SCU binaries are present and version is below 3.6.7
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Audit SCU configuration for file output settingsExamine configuration files, scripts, or application code that invoke SCU tools. Look for command-line parameters or settings that specify output directories for DICOM files (e.g., --output-directory, -d, or similar file path arguments)Affected if SCU tools are configured to write DICOM files to user-controlled or external directories
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Review file write permissions on DICOM storage pathsInspect the file system permissions on directories where SCU tools write DICOM output. Determine if these directories are writable by the process running the SCU componentAffected if The SCU component has write access to directories that could be targeted for path traversal manipulation
Your environment is affected if you are running any DCMTK version prior to 3.6.7 and using SCU components that write DICOM files to configurable directories.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.6.7
Upgrade DCMTK to version 3.6.7 or later. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, implement strict input validation on file paths and restrict file write permissions to prevent directory traversal.
3.6.7
- 1. Identify the current installed version of DCMTK by running 'dcmtk-config --version' or checking your package manager
- 2. Stop any DICOM services or applications that are currently using DCMTK
- 3. Remove the existing DCMTK installation using your system's package manager (e.g., 'apt-get remove dcmtk' on Debian/Ubuntu or 'yum remove dcmtk' on RHEL/CentOS)
- 4. Update your package repository to ensure you have access to the latest packages
- 5. Install DCMTK version 3.6.7 or later from your distribution's package repository, or download the source code from the official DCMTK website (https://www.dcmtk.org/) and compile version 3.6.7
- 6. Verify the new version is installed correctly by running 'dcmtk-config --version'
- 7. Restart any DICOM services that were stopped in step 2
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-2120 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-2120 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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