Description
Ghostscript 8.71 and earlier reads initialization files from the current working directory, which allows local users to execute arbitrary PostScript commands via a Trojan horse file, related to improper support for the -P- option to the gs program, as demonstrated using gs_init.ps, a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-4820.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | ghostscript | 8.71~dfsg2-6.1 | — |
| Debian 13 | ghostscript | 8.71~dfsg2-6.1 | — |
| Debian 12 | ghostscript | 8.71~dfsg2-6.1 | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | ghostscript +3 | 8.70-11.el6_2.6 | RHSA-2012:0095 |
| RHEL 5 | ghostscript +2 | 8.70-6.el5_7.6 | RHSA-2012:0095 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2012:0095 Red Hat Security Advisory: ghostscript security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
References
- 66247 vdb-entry
- 40532 third-party-advisory
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=583183
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=583316
- 20100526 Re: Ghostscript 8.64 executes random code at startup mailing-list
- RHSA-2012:0095 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=599564
- GLSA-201412-17 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2010-1757 vdb-entry
- http://savannah.gnu.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=6368
- 20100526 Re: Ghostscript 8.64 executes random code at startup mailing-list
- FEDORA-2010-10642 vendor-advisory
- 20100522 Ghostscript 8.64 executes random code at startup mailing-list
- http://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=691350
- 40452 third-party-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2010:014 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=608071
- 40475 third-party-advisory
- FEDORA-2010-10660 vendor-advisory
- 20100526 Re: Ghostscript 8.64 executes random code at startup mailing-list
- http://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=691339