CVE-2026-22879
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 · uneditedvtk vtk-dicom vtkDICOMItem::NewDataElement heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability
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 confidenceA heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the vtkDICOM library's vtkDICOMItem::NewDataElement function. This flaw allows an attacker to overwrite heap memory by providing specially crafted DICOM data, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service.
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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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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Detect if vtkDICOM library is installedSearch for vtkDICOM or vtk-dicom packages/files on the system. Common locations include /usr/lib/, /usr/local/lib/, or installed via package managers (apt, yum, pip, conan). Use commands like 'dpkg -l | grep vtk', 'pip list | grep -i vtk', or file system searches for 'libvtkDICOM*'.Affected if The library is present on the system
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Identify the installed vtk-dicom versionRun version detection commands appropriate to the installation method. For system packages: 'dpkg -l libvtk-dicom*' or 'rpm -qa | grep vtk-dicom'. For Python: 'pip show vtk-dicom' or 'python -c "import vtkDICOM; print(vtkDICOM.__version__)"'. For CMake builds: check CMakeCache.txt or library metadata.Affected if The version cannot be determined or is older than the patched release
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Verify DICOM data processing capabilityInspect application configuration and code that uses vtkDICOM. Look for imports of vtkDICOM module, usage of vtkDICOMItem class, and calls to NewDataElement method. Search source code for 'vtkDICOMItem' and 'NewDataElement' patterns.Affected if The application imports and uses vtkDICOMItem to process DICOM files
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Check for untrusted DICOM inputReview application architecture to determine if DICOM data originates from untrusted sources (network uploads, external storage, user-provided files). Inspect input validation routines around DICOM file parsing functions.Affected if DICOM data from untrusted sources is processed without prior sanitization
If vtkDICOM library is present, the installed version predates the security patch, and the application processes DICOM data from untrusted sources using vtkDICOMItem::NewDataElement, the environment is vulnerable to heap-based buffer overflow.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate the vtk-dicom library to the latest version that includes the security patch. If no patch is available, implement strict bounds checking and input validation on DICOM data before processing with vtkDICOMItem::NewDataElement.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-22879 — 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-2026-22879 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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