CISA Advisory: Grassroots DICOM Memory Leak Vulnerability CVE-2026-3650
Summary
CISA has issued an advisory regarding a critical memory leak vulnerability (CVE-2026-3650) in Grassroots DICOM (GDCM) versions 3.2.2. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition by sending a specially crafted file. The vulnerability affects the Healthcare and Public Health critical infrastructure sectors worldwide.
What changed
CISA has released an advisory (ICSMA-26-083-01) detailing a critical vulnerability, CVE-2026-3650, affecting Grassroots DICOM (GDCM) version 3.2.2. The vulnerability, a memory leak (CWE-401), occurs when parsing malformed DICOM files, leading to extensive memory allocation and a denial-of-service condition. The CVSS score is 7.5 (HIGH), with an attack vector of Network (AV:N), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction needed (UI:N).
While the vendor has not provided a direct mitigation, CISA recommends minimizing network exposure for control system devices, isolating them behind firewalls, and using secure remote access methods like VPNs. Organizations should perform impact and risk assessments before implementing defensive measures. The advisory highlights the vulnerability's deployment in the Healthcare and Public Health sectors globally.
What to do next
- Minimize network exposure for control system devices.
- Isolate control system networks behind firewalls.
- Implement secure remote access methods such as VPNs.
Source document (simplified)
ICS Medical Advisory
Grassroots DICOM (GDCM)
Release Date
March 24, 2026
Alert Code ICSMA-26-083-01 Related topics: Industrial Control System Vulnerabilities, Industrial Control Systems View CSAF
Summary
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to send a specially crafted file, and when parsed, could result in a denial-of-service condition.
The following versions of Grassroots DICOM (GDCM) are affected:
- Grassroots DICOM (GDCM) 3.2.2 (CVE-2026-3650)
| CVSS | Vendor | Equipment | Vulnerabilities |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| v3 7.5 | Grassroots | Grassroots DICOM (GDCM) | Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime |
Background
- Critical Infrastructure Sectors: Healthcare and Public Health
- Countries/Areas Deployed: Worldwide
- Company Headquarters Location: United States
Vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-3650
A memory leak exists in the Grassroots DICOM library (GDCM). The bug occurs when parsing malformed DICOM files with non-standard VR types in file meta information. The vulnerability leads to vast memory allocations and resource depletion, triggering a denial-of-service condition. A maliciously crafted file can fill the heap in a single read operation without properly releasing it.
Affected Products
Grassroots DICOM (GDCM)
Vendor:
Grassroots Product Version:
Grassroots Grassroots DICOM (GDCM): 3.2.2 Product Status:
known_affected
Remediations
Mitigation
The maintainer of Grassroots DICOM (GDCM) has not responded to requests to work with CISA to mitigate this vulnerability. For update information refer to the software page on SourceForge.
Mitigation
https://sourceforge.net/projects/gdcm/.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/gdcm/
Relevant CWE: CWE-401 Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
Metrics
| CVSS Version | Base Score | Base Severity | Vector String |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3.1 | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
Acknowledgments
- Volodymyr Bihunenko, Mykyta Mudryi, and Markiian Chaklosh of ARIMLABS reported this vulnerability to CISA
Legal Notice and Terms of Use
This product is provided subject to this Notification (https://www.cisa.gov/notification) and this Privacy & Use policy (https://www.cisa.gov/privacy-policy).
Recommended Practices
CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability.
Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, ensuring they are not accessible from the internet.
Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolating them from business networks.
When remote access is required, use more secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.
CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.
CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.
CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.
Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.
Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.
CISA also recommends users take the following measures to protect themselves from social engineering attacks:
Do not click web links or open attachments in unsolicited email messages.
Refer to Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams for more information on avoiding email scams.
Refer to Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information on social engineering attacks.
No known public exploitation specifically targeting this vulnerability has been reported to CISA at this time.
Revision History
- Initial Release Date: 2026-03-24
| Date | Revision | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-24 | 1 | Initial Publication. |
Legal Notice and Terms of Use
This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.
Tags
Sector: Healthcare and Public Health Sector Topics: Industrial Control System Vulnerabilities, Industrial Control Systems
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