CVE-2021-41687 : Vulnerability Insights and Analysis

DCMTK through 3.6.6 has a memory leak vulnerability that can be exploited by an attacker, leading to a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Understanding CVE-2021-41687

What is CVE-2021-41687?

DCMTK through version 3.6.6 fails to handle memory deallocation correctly, resulting in a memory leak when errors occur during parsing. This vulnerability can be triggered by sending crafted requests to the dcmqrdb program, allowing an attacker to exploit it for a DoS attack.

The Impact of CVE-2021-41687

The vulnerability could be leveraged by malicious actors to exhaust system resources, potentially causing the targeted application to become unresponsive or crash.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-41687

Vulnerability Description

DCMTK through version 3.6.6 mishandles memory deallocation, leading to a memory leak when parsing errors occur.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: DCMTK
Vendor: Not applicable
Affected Version: 3.6.6

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by sending specific requests to the dcmqrdb program, causing a memory leak and enabling a potential DoS attack.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Monitor for any abnormal memory usage on systems running DCMTK through version 3.6.6.
Consider blocking potentially malicious requests at network boundaries.

Long-Term Security Practices

Keep DCMTK and associated software up to date with the latest security patches.

Patching and Updates

Apply patches or updates provided by DCMTK to address the memory leak vulnerability.