CVE-2019-14817: artifex software ghostscript Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2019-14817 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs vulnerability in artifex software ghostscript. EPSS estimates a 2.02% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 81% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.
Public exploit (reference, Date unknown)
Source freshness unavailable
How is this decided?Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 10 · Related 6Timeline
- 03-09-2019PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 05-08-2024Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
A flaw was found in, ghostscript versions prior to 9.50, in the .pdfexectoken and other procedures where it did not properly secure its privileged calls, enabling scripts to bypass `-dSAFER` restrictions. A specially crafted PostScript file could disable security protection and then have access to the file system, or execute arbitrary commands.
CVSS metrics
8 scores · 5 sources · 3 versions- OSV · AlpineEcosystem advisory · calculated7.8HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated7.8HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated7.8HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- NVDNIST7.3HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated7.8HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HDiffers
EPSS trend
Probability
2.02%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
81%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
No change 0.00 pp
From 2.02% on 04-10-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogs
CISA KEVNot in the CISA KEV catalog.
ENISA CNWNot in the ENISA CNW catalog.
CIRCLNot in the CIRCL catalog.
Public exploits
1 foundExploit Reference (bugzilla.redhat.com)
Maturity: unknown
Weaknesses
CWE · root cause- CWE-648Incorrect Use of Privileged APIsThe product does not conform to the API requirements for a function call that requires extra privileges. This could allow attackers to gain privileges by causing the function to be called incorrectly.
- CWE-863Incorrect AuthorizationThe product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Affected systems
Known conditions: network-reachable, no authentication, no user interaction (CVSS vector). Other conditions: not stated in public data.
Debian2 products
- ghostscript< 9.28~~rc2~dfsg-1
- debian_linuxEOL8.0 | 9.0 | 10.0
Alpine1 product
- ghostscript< 9.27-r4 | < 9.26-r4
Artifex1 product
- ghostscript< 9.50
Artifex software1 product
- ghostscriptghostscript versions prior to 9.28
Fedoraproject1 product
- fedoraEOL29 | 30 | 31
Opensuse1 product
- leapEOL15.0 | 15.1
Redhat1 product
- openshift_container_platform3.11 | 4.1
Ubuntu1 product
- ghostscript< 9.26~dfsg+0-0ubuntu0.16.04.11 | < 9.26~dfsg+0-0ubuntu0.18.04.11
8 vendors · 9 products
References
18 links- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-14817X Refsource CONFIRMExploitIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/09/msg00007.htmlMailing ListX Refsource MLISTThird Party Advisory
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00090.htmlVendor AdvisoryX Refsource SUSEMailing ListThird Party Advisory
Show all 18 references
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00088.htmlVendor AdvisoryX Refsource SUSEMailing ListThird Party Advisory