Privilege Escalation in Ghostscript by Artwork Manipulation
CVE-2019-14811

7.3HIGH

Key Information:

Vendor

Artifex Software

Status
Ghostscript
Vendor
CVE Published:
3 September 2019

Badges

👾 Exploit Exists🟡 Public PoC

What is CVE-2019-14811?

A security flaw exists in various Ghostscript versions prior to 9.50, specifically in the .pdf_hook_DSC_Creator procedure. This vulnerability allows unauthorized scripts to bypass the -dSAFER security restrictions. By manipulating specially crafted PostScript files, an attacker can effectively disable security protections, enabling potential access to the file system or execution of arbitrary commands, posing significant risks to system integrity.

Affected Version(s)

ghostscript ghostscript versions prior to 9.28

Exploit Proof of Concept (PoC)

PoC code is written by security researchers to demonstrate the vulnerability can be exploited. PoC code is also a key component for weaponization which could lead to ransomware.

CVE-2019-14811-in-pdf-exploit
Created by matejsmycka

References

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-14811
x_refsource_CONFIRM
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4518
vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIAN
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/09/msg0...
mailing-listx_refsource_MLIST

CVSS V3.1

Score:
7.3
Severity:
HIGH
Confidentiality:
Low
Integrity:
Low
Availability:
Low
Attack Vector:
Network
Attack Complexity:
Low
Privileges Required:
None
User Interaction:
None
Scope:
Unchanged

Timeline

  • 🟡

    Public PoC available

  • 👾

    Exploit known to exist

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

.