Ghostscript Vulnerability Allows for Out-of-Bounds Write and Use-After-Free in PDF Processing
CVE-2020-36773

9.8CRITICAL

Key Information:

Vendor

Artifex
Status
Ghostscript
Vendor
CVE Published:
4 February 2024

What is CVE-2020-36773?

Artifex Ghostscript, a widely used software suite for processing PDF and PostScript, contains a vulnerability that allows for an out-of-bounds write and a use-after-free condition. This issue arises from the handling of characters in PDF documents, where a single character can correspond to multiple Unicode code points, such as in the case of ligatures. As a result, this vulnerability can be exploited during the rendering process, leading to potential data corruption and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

References

https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=702229
https://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3B...
https://bugzilla.opensuse.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1177922

CVSS V3.1

Score:
9.8
Severity:
CRITICAL
Confidentiality:
High
Integrity:
High
Availability:
High
Attack Vector:
Network
Attack Complexity:
Low
Privileges Required:
None
User Interaction:
None
Scope:
Unchanged

Timeline

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

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CVE-2020-36773 : Ghostscript Vulnerability Allows for Out-of-Bounds Write and Use-After-Free in PDF Processing