Vulnerability identifier: #VU14690

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv3.1: 9.2 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-16509

CWE-ID: CWE-78

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
Ghostscript
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: Artifex Software, Inc.

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary shell commands on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to /invalidaccess checks can be bypassed after a restore failure. A remote unauthenticated attacker can trick the victim into opening a specially crafted PostScript file that submits malicious input and execute arbitrary shell commands.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Note: original fix for this vulnerability was incomplete in version 9.24. Vendor has issued another patch.

Mitigation
Update to version 9.25.

Vulnerable software versions

Ghostscript: 9.00 - 9.24

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External links
http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git;a=commitdiff;h=520bb0ea7519aa3e79db78aaf0589dae02103764
http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2018/q3/228

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

Yes. This vulnerability is being exploited in the wild.