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The HIPAA Journal is the leading provider of HIPAA training, news, regulatory updates, and independent compliance advice.

High Severity Vulnerability Identified in MicroDicom DICOM Viewer

A high-severity vulnerability has been identified in the MicroDicom DICOM Viewer, a popular free-to-use software for viewing and manipulating DICOM medical images.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely in a low complexity attack, and successful exploitation can allow the execution of arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of DICOM Viewer; however, user interaction is required to exploit the vulnerability. A threat actor would need to convince a user to open a malicious DICOM file locally or visit a specially crafted malicious web page, for example, through social engineering or phishing.

The vulnerability affects DICOM Viewer version 2025.2 (Build 8154) and prior versions and is tracked as CVE-2025-5943.  The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write issue, where it is possible to write to memory outside the bounds of the intended buffer and execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v4 base score of 8.6 out of 10 and a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. While there have been no known cases of the vulnerability being exploited in the wild at the time of disclosure, prompt patching is recommended. The vulnerability has been fixed in version 2025.3 and later versions.

The vulnerability was identified by independent security researcher Michael Heinzl, who reported the vulnerability to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA). The latest announcement follows a May 2025 disclosure of two high-severity vulnerabilities, a February 2025 disclosure of a medium-severity vulnerability that can be exploited in a machine-in-the-middle (MitM) attack, and four high-severity vulnerabilities identified in 2024 and disclosed in March and June last year.

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Since vulnerabilities are frequently discovered, it is advisable to locate DICOM Viewer behind a firewall, to isolate it from business networks, and if remote access is required, to use a secure method of connection such as a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and ensure that the VPN is kept up to date.

Author: Steve Alder is the editor-in-chief of The HIPAA Journal. Steve is responsible for editorial policy regarding the topics covered in The HIPAA Journal. He is a specialist on healthcare industry legal and regulatory affairs, and has 10 years of experience writing about HIPAA and other related legal topics. Steve has developed a deep understanding of regulatory issues surrounding the use of information technology in the healthcare industry and has written hundreds of articles on HIPAA-related topics. Steve shapes the editorial policy of The HIPAA Journal, ensuring its comprehensive coverage of critical topics. Steve Alder is considered an authority in the healthcare industry on HIPAA. The HIPAA Journal has evolved into the leading independent authority on HIPAA under Steve’s editorial leadership. Steve manages a team of writers and is responsible for the factual and legal accuracy of all content published on The HIPAA Journal. Steve holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Liverpool. You can connect with Steve via LinkedIn or email via stevealder(at)hipaajournal.com

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