CVE-2020-36773: artifex ghostscript Use After Free
CVSS: 9.8v3.1CriticalModified
AliasesSUSE-SU-2024:0920-1SUSE-SU-2024:0921-1UBUNTU-CVE-2020-36773DEBIAN-CVE-2020-36773
Published 04-02-2024Last modified 22-05-2025
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2020-36773 is a critical (CVSS 9.8) Use After Free vulnerability in artifex ghostscript. EPSS estimates a 0.88% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 58.4% of scored vulnerabilities.
CVSS score
9.8/10
010
Critical · v3.1 (CVE.org)EPSS score
0.88%
0%100%
Low · 0.00 pp in 30 daysKEVNot listedIn no KEV catalog
RansomwareNone recordedNo known use recorded
Public exploits0No public exploits recorded
Timeline
- 04-02-2024PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 22-05-2025Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
Artifex Ghostscript before 9.53.0 has an out-of-bounds write and use-after-free in devices/vector/gdevtxtw.c (for txtwrite) because a single character code in a PDF document can map to more than one Unicode code point (e.g., for a ligature).
CVSS metrics
4 scores · 4 sources · 1 versionCritical 9.8Preferred score · CVE.org (CNA)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSourcesAll 4 agree
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated9.8CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated9.8CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- NVDNIST9.8CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
0.88%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
58%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
0.00 pp
From 0.88% on 20-09-2026
20-09-202620-10-2026
EPSS score0.88%
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in any of the 3 tracked catalogs.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root cause- CWE-416Use After FreeThe product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
- CWE-787Out-of-bounds WriteThe product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Affected systems
Suse4 products
- ghostscript&distro=SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5< 9.52-150000.185.1
- ghostscript&distro=SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5< 9.52-23.71.1
- ghostscript&distro=SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5< 9.52-23.71.1
- ghostscript&distro=SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5< 9.52-23.71.1
Artifex1 product
- ghostscript9.51 | 9.52 | 9.52.1 | 9.53.0:rc1 | 9.53.0:rc2
Debian1 product
- ghostscript< 9.53.0~dfsg-1
Opensuse1 product
- ghostscript&distro=openSUSE Leap 15.5< 9.52-150000.185.1
Ubuntu1 product
- ghostscript< 9.50~dfsg-5ubuntu4.11 | < 9.55.0~dfsg1-0ubuntu5.5
5 vendors · 8 products
References
12 links- bugzilla.opensuse.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1177922Issue Tracking
