Description
An issue was discovered in Artifex Ghostscript before 9.25. Incorrect "restoration of privilege" checking when running out of stack during exception handling could be used by attackers able to supply crafted PostScript to execute code using the "pipe" instruction. This is due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2018-16509.
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 | 9.25~dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | ghostscript | 9.25~dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | ghostscript | 9.25~dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 9 | ghostscript | 9.20~dfsg-3.2+deb9u5 | DSA-4294-1 |
| Debian 8 | ghostscript | 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u8 | DLA-1504-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | ghostscript | 9.22~dfsg+1-0ubuntu1.2 | USN-3768-1 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | ghostscript | 9.18~dfsg~0-0ubuntu2.9 | USN-3768-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | ghostscript | 9.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.13 | USN-3768-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 7 | ghostscript +4 | 9.07-31.el7_6.6 | RHSA-2018:3834 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 | ghostscript | 9.25-3.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2976-1 |
| SLES 15 | libspectre | 0.2.8-3.2.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2976-1 |
| SLES 12 SP3 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-2, SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
| SLES 12 SP1 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
| SLES 12 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-3 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 4 | ghostscript | 9.25-23.13.1 | SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ghostscript | 9.54.0-2.2 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10783-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
Show 15 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.8 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.7 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.6 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.5 | ghostscript | 9.25-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2 | ghostscript +4 | 9.06-8.amzn2.0.5 | ALAS2-2018-1088 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 7 | ghostscript +4 | 9.07-31.el7_6.6 | ELSA-2018-3834 |
Advisories 11
- RHSA-2018:3834 Red Hat Security Advisory: ghostscript security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- USN-3768-1 ghostscript vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
- DSA-4294-1 ghostscript - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-1504-1 ghostscript - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10783-1 ghostscript-9.54.0-2.2 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2018:2976-1 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2018:2975-3 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2018:2975-2 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2018:2975-1 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
- ELSA-2018-3834 Important: ghostscript security and bug fix update (Oracle Linux 7) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Dec 18, 2018
- ALAS2-2018-1088 Important: ghostscript security update (Amazon Linux 2) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 10, 2018
References
- [oss-security] 20180909 Re: Ghostscript 9.24 issues mailing-list
- https://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=5812b1b78fc4d36fdc293b7859de69241140d590
- https://seclists.org/oss-sec/2018/q3/229
- GLSA-201811-12 vendor-advisory
- USN-3768-1 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:3834 vendor-advisory
- DSA-4294 vendor-advisory
- [debian-lts-announce] 20180913 [SECURITY] [DLA 1504-1] ghostscript security update mailing-list
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=643b24dbd002fb9c131313253c307cf3951b3d47
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=3e5d316b72e3965b7968bb1d96baa137cd063ac6