Out-of-bounds write in Ghostscript - CVE-2020-21890
Published: September 14, 2023
Vulnerability identifier: #VU80809
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4: 8.6 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2020-21890
CWE-ID: CWE-787
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to compromise vulnerable system.
The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error within the clj_media_size() function in devices/gdevclj.c. A remote attacker can trick the victim to open a specially crafted PDF file, trigger an out-of-bounds write and execute arbitrary code on the target system.
Affected software
Ghostscript
Amazon Linux AMI
Ubuntu
ghostscript (Ubuntu package)
libgs9 (Ubuntu package)
ghostscript
Amazon Linux AMI
Ubuntu
ghostscript (Ubuntu package)
libgs9 (Ubuntu package)
ghostscript
How to mitigate CVE-2020-21890
Install updates from vendor's website.
Ghostscript - update to 9.51
ghostscript (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions Ubuntu Pro, 9.50~dfsg-5ubuntu4.10
libgs9 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions Ubuntu Pro, 9.50~dfsg-5ubuntu4.10
ghostscript - update to 8.70-24.30
ghostscript (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions Ubuntu Pro, 9.50~dfsg-5ubuntu4.10
libgs9 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions Ubuntu Pro, 9.50~dfsg-5ubuntu4.10
ghostscript - update to 8.70-24.30