CVE-2022-2121
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) has a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability while processing DICOM files, which may result in a denial-of-service condition.
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 · moderate confidenceOFFIS DCMTK contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in its DICOM file processing code. When parsing malformed or crafted DICOM files, the software attempts to dereference a NULL pointer, causing a crash and resulting in a denial-of-service condition. The vulnerability affects all versions prior to 3.6.7.
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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Determine DCMTK library versionRun 'dcmtk_version' command if available, or check the version string of the installed DCMTK shared library (often named 'dcmtk' or 'libdcmtk') using your system's package manager or by inspecting the library file metadataAffected if The installed version is less than 3.6.7
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Identify applications using DCMTKSearch for executables or services that link against the DCMTK library (such as storescp, storescu, dcm2xml, or other dcmtk command-line tools) using 'ldd' on Linux or dependency walkers on WindowsAffected if Any application that processes DICOM files using DCMTK is running and the DCMTK version is below 3.6.7
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Check for active DICOM file processingIdentify if any DCMTK-based services or scripts are actively accepting or processing DICOM files from external sources (such as DICOM listeners, PACS systems, or conversion tools)Affected if DICOM file import, conversion, or parsing functionality is in use with a vulnerable DCMTK version
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Verify file parsing pathsReview logs or documentation for any DCMTK-based tools that parse DICOM files from untrusted sourcesAffected if The environment processes DICOM files from external or untrusted sources using a DCMTK version prior to 3.6.7
The environment is affected if any system or application is using a DCMTK version earlier than 3.6.7 to process DICOM files, as the NULL pointer dereference occurs during malformed DICOM file parsing.
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 to obtain the patch for this vulnerability. Since this is a library vulnerability, ensure any application or system using DCMTK is rebuilt against the updated version.
3.6.7 or later
- Upgrade DCMTK to version 3.6.7 or later to resolve the NULL pointer dereference vulnerability
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-2121 — 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-2022-2121 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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