CVE-2022-4981 — DCMTK dcmqrscp dcmqrcnf.cc readPeerList null pointer dereference
A vulnerability was detected in DCMTK up to 3.6.7. The impacted element is the function DcmQueryRetrieveConfig::readPeerList of the file /dcmqrcnf.cc of the component dcmqrscp. The manipulation results in null pointer dereference. The attack needs to be approached locally. The exploit is now public and may be used. Upgrading to version 3.6.8 is sufficient to resolve this issue. The patch is identified as 957fb31e5. Upgrading the affected component is advised.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+3
- Technical severity (medium)+3
- CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Offis Dcmtk).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (denial of service), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.8 | CVSS 4.0 | Medium | — | — | VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 1.9 | CVSS 4.0 | Low | — | — | cna@vuldb.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 5.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | 1.8 | 3.6 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 3.3 | CVSS 3.1 | Low | 1.8 | 1.4 | cna@vuldb.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 3.3 | CVSS 3.1 | Low | — | — | VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 3.3 | CVSS 3.0 | Low | — | — | VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 1.7 | CVSS 2.0 | Low | 3.1 | 2.9 | cna@vuldb.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 1.7 | CVSS 2.0 | Low | — | — | VulDB via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.28%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Track CPU/memory spikes and availability drops correlated with request patterns.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 5.5
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Record created in this database
- 2025
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
6 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-44037 Uncontrolled recursion in DCMTK JSON reader allows denial of service 7d
- Medium CVE-2026-44035 Uncontrolled recursion in DCMTK DICOMDIR parsing allows denial of service 7d
- Medium CVE-2026-44033 Uncontrolled recursion in the DCMTK bundled XML parser allows denial of service 7d
- Medium CVE-2026-44038 Global buffer out-of-bounds read in DCMTK JPEG Huffman decoding 7d
- High CVE-2026-44031 Uncontrolled recursion in the DCMTK DICOM dataset parser allows unauthenticated remote denial of service 7d
- Medium CVE-2026-44034 Heap out-of-bounds read in DCMTK RLE decodeFrame() 7d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2022-4981 is "DCMTK dcmqrscp dcmqrcnf.cc readPeerList null pointer dereference", rated Medium. It affects Dcmtk (Offis); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.28% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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