CVE-2020-16291: artifex ghostscript Out-of-bounds Write
CVSS: 5.5v3.1MediumAnalyzed
AliasesALPINE-CVE-2020-16291UBUNTU-CVE-2020-16291DEBIAN-CVE-2020-16291
Published 13-08-2020Last modified 04-03-2025
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2020-16291 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in artifex ghostscript. EPSS estimates a 2.28% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 82.8% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.
CVSS score
5.5/10
010
Medium · v3.1 (NVD)EPSS score
2.28%
0%100%
Low · +0.02 pp in 30 daysKEVNot listedIn no KEV catalog
RansomwareNone recordedNo known use recorded
Public exploits1reference
Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 5 · Related 1Timeline
- 13-08-2020PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 04-03-2025Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
A buffer overflow vulnerability in contrib/gdevdj9.c of Artifex Software GhostScript v9.18 to v9.50 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via a crafted PDF file. This is fixed in v9.51.
CVSS metrics
5 scores · 4 sources · 2 versionsMedium 5.5Preferred score · NVD (NIST)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSourcesAll 4 agree
- OSV · AlpineEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Medium 4.3Preferred score · NVD (NIST)
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:PSourcesSingle source
EPSS trend
Probability
2.28%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
83%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
+0.02 pp
From 2.26% on 20-09-2026
20-09-202620-10-2026
EPSS score2.28%
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in any of the 3 tracked catalogs.
Public exploits
1 foundExploit Reference (bugs.ghostscript.com)
Maturity: unknown
Weaknesses
CWE · root causeAffected systems
Debian2 products
- ghostscript< 9.51~dfsg-1
- debian_linuxEOL9.0 | 10.0
Alpine1 product
- ghostscript≥ 9.18, < 9.51-r0
Artifex1 product
- ghostscript≥ 9.18, < 9.52
Canonical1 product
- ubuntu_linuxEOL16.04 | 18.04 | 20.04
Ubuntu1 product
- ghostscript< 9.26~dfsg+0-0ubuntu0.16.04.13 | < 9.26~dfsg+0-0ubuntu0.18.04.13 | < 9.50~dfsg-5ubuntu4.2
5 vendors · 6 products
References
14 links
- git.ghostscript.com?p=ghostpdl.git%3Bh=4f73e8b4d578e69a17f452fa60d2130c5faaefd6X Refsource MISCX TransferredBroken Link