Is CVE-2026-5442 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2026-5442 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2026-5442 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2026-5442 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-5442?

CVE-2026-5442 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-5442

CRITICAL

CVE-2026-5442

Published: April 9, 2026· Updated: Apr 14, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

EPSS:0.02%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:4.0th

Official Description

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the DICOM image decoder. Dimension fields are encoded using Value Representation (VR) Unsigned Long (UL), instead of the expected VR Unsigned Short (US), which allows extremely large dimensions to be processed. This causes an integer overflow during frame size calculation and results in out-of-bounds memory access during image decoding.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-5442 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.None

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

orthanc-server1 product

orthanc

Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time

Exploit-DB

Offensive Security exploit database

GitHub PoC Search

Community PoC repositories

Rapid7 / Metasploit

Metasploit module search

PacketStorm

Security advisories & exploits

External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/536588

News & Research Mentioning CVE-2026-5442

CISA warns of another cPanel plugin flaw exploited in attacks

BleepingComputer· Jun 16, 2026

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has given U.S. government agencies three days to secure their servers against an actively exploited vulnerability (CVE-2026-54420) in the LiteSpeed cPanel user-end plugin. [...] [xlite_meta score:64 src:BleepingComputer xlite_fp:1b5fc711372793f971ca2ce4d9fb2168c2e382fc63abbad44c87f2c30bc94e8d]

CISA Flags LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Flaw Exploited for Root Privilege Escalation

The Hacker News· Jun 16, 2026

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added a security flaw impacting LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, requiring Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to apply the fixes by June 18, 2026. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2026-54420 (CVSS score: 8.5), which has been described as a case of privilege [xlite_meta score:50 src:The Hacker News xlite_fp:e57101cb477a587bea00561d239625aef5bda8893bbf39b477cfd29c709c5182]

CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog

CISA Alerts· Jun 15, 2026

CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. CVE-2026-20262 Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Directory or Path Traversal Vulnerability CVE-2026-54420 LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following Vulnerability These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise. Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04: Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk establishes vulnerability management requirements for Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies, updating BOD 22-01. BOD 26-04 reinforces the importance of the KEV catalog and requires federal agencies to prior [xlite_meta score:51 src:CISA Alerts xlite_fp:adacfd4d13e672dbfdbcb2bdadb35502b2ab40c92bddd292358f589bb3ebb6f8]