A global out-of-bounds read in the Huffman decoder of the bundled IJG JPEG libraries (dcmjpeg/libijg8, libijg12 and libijg16) of OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 allows an attacker to read memory beyond the extend_test[] and extend_offset[] tables, causing incorrectly decoded pixel data or a crash, via a DICOM file with a crafted JPEG stream whose Huffman table defines a difference category above 15. Huffman symbol values are not range-checked unless DCMTK is built with DCMTK_ENABLE_STRICT_HUFFMAN_TABLE_CHECK, which is disabled by default. dcmdjpeg and any application that decompresses JPEG DICOM images with DCMTK are affected. The issue is fixed in commit d6ae1bc8d5b9ae9c7300013c8c85cc2ea0fd8cf5.
CVE-2026-44038
MEDIUMPre-NVD 4.44.4Trending — 4 sources updated this week
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence
“—” beside the score: it is equal to the CVSS score beside it.
Score 4.4 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2026-10-08. A secondary CVSS source baseline 4.4; sources differ by 0.0.
Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, a secondary CVSS source
4.4EG
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorRemediate within your standard update timelines (the SSVC decision on this page).
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0.1%CVSS: 4.4Exploit: None knownExposed services: Not assessed
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 4.4
- EG Score
- 4.4MEDIUMhigh confidence
- EG Risk
- 20EG Risk 20/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity44% × 45%The EG Score, 4.4 of 10.Exploitation0.1% × 40%FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.Automatability0% × 15%CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at every mission impact level.Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines. - EPSS PROB
- 0.1%
- EPSS %ILE
- 1st
- KEV
- Not listed
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
Published
October 8, 2026
Last Modified
October 8, 2026
Advisory Details (2)
Auto-updated Oct 8, 2026Patch available. Sources: github_commit.
GitHub commit Patch Available
commit d6ae1bc8d5b9 (DCMTK/dcmtk)
Patch available: DCMTK/dcmtk latest (contains commit d6ae1bc8d5b9)
https://github.com/DCMTK/dcmtk/commit/d6ae1bc8d5b9ae9c7300013c8c85cc2ea0fd8cf5Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-44038(1)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Affected Packages
(3 across 3 ecosystems)
Debian:12(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| dcmtk | 3.6.7-11 ... 3.7.0-1 (40 versions) |
| — |
Debian:13(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| dcmtk | 3.6.9-5 ... 3.7.0-1 (15 versions) |
| — |
Debian:14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| dcmtk | 3.6.9-5 ... 3.7.0-1 (12 versions) |
| — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 20× in last 7d / 20× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.
- 2026-10-13 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 1st percentile
- 2026-10-12 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 1st percentile
- 2026-10-12 16:05 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 19:47 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 17:02 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 16:18 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4mfc-mxcx-mmpp · GitHub CVSS 4.4
- 2026-10-11 14:27 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 1st percentile
- 2026-10-10 20:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 1st percentile
- 2026-10-10 17:56 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-10 17:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4mfc-mxcx-mmpp · GitHub CVSS 4.4
- 2026-10-09 20:07 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.1% · 1st percentile
- 2026-10-09 19:37 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4mfc-mxcx-mmpp · GitHub CVSS 4.4
- 2026-10-08 21:18 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-08 21:18 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4mfc-mxcx-mmpp · GitHub CVSS 4.4
- 2026-10-08 15:23 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-08 14:45 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-08 13:32 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-08 13:04 UTCEG score recomputeFirst assessed: 4.4 MEDIUM
- 2026-10-08 13:01 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked
Related CVEs(same product + same CWE)
Same product
10 shownDebian:12:dcmtk
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2026-44038?
CVE-2026-44038 is a medium-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on October 8, 2026. A global out-of-bounds read in the Huffman decoder of the bundled IJG JPEG libraries (dcmjpeg/libijg8, libijg12 and libijg16) of OFFIS DCMTK 3.7.0 allows an attacker to read memory beyond the extendtest[] and extendoffset[] tables, causing incorrectly decoded pixel data or a crash, via a DICOM file…
When was the CVE record for CVE-2026-44038 published?
The CVE record for CVE-2026-44038 was published on October 8, 2026. That is the record's publication date; the vulnerability itself may have been made public earlier. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of October 8, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2026-44038 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-44038 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (1st percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-44038?
CVE-2026-44038 has a CVSS base score of 4.4 (a secondary CVSS source that NVD displays; NVD's own analysis pending).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-44038?
A fix for CVE-2026-44038 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory. The vendor advisories EchelonGraph has for CVE-2026-44038 are linked in the Vendor Advisories panel on this page.
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2026-44038
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-44038?
EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.