Path TraversalWeakness · CWE-22

CVE-2026-50003

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-30
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
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 8 weeks old

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
A malicious or compromised server can make a DCMTK client using bit-preserving C-GET storage mode write files outside the chosen output directory, using both relative (../) paths and absolute paths.

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

DCMTK's DICOM C-GET client in bit-preserving storage mode lacks proper path validation, allowing a malicious server to send file path references containing path traversal sequences (../) or absolute paths. This causes the client to write files outside the intended output directory, enabling arbitrary file write and potential code execution.

MitigationImplement strict path validation in the C-GET storage provider to canonicalize paths and reject any that escape the designated output directory, ensuring all writes remain within the intended boundary.

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 installed DCMTK version
    Run 'dcmtk-version' or check package manager for DCMTK packages; compare the version number to any known affected releases
    Affected if The installed version is within the range that includes the fix for CVE-2026-50003 but the system has not been patched
  2. Confirm C-GET client is in use
    Review application logs or configuration for usage of the 'storescp' or 'c-get' services in bit-preserving storage mode; check for command-line invocations using the '--bit-preserving' flag
    Affected if The C-GET client is actively used with bit-preserving storage enabled
  3. Verify output directory configuration
    Inspect the configuration file or command parameters that specify the output directory for received DICOM files; look for the '--output-directory' or similar parameter in the C-GET storage provider setup
    Affected if An output directory is configured without restrictive path validation rules
  4. Test for path traversal vulnerability
    If possible, send a test DICOM file with a manipulated Storage Filepath or SOP Instance UID containing '../' sequences or an absolute path, then verify if files are written outside the designated output directory
    Affected if Files are written outside the intended output directory when path traversal sequences are present

A user is affected if they run DCMTK's C-GET client in bit-preserving storage mode without having applied the path validation fix, allowing arbitrary file writes outside the configured output directory.

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 path validation in the C-GET storage provider to canonicalize paths and reject any that escape the designated output directory, ensuring all writes remain within the intended boundary.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2026-50003 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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