Description
A flaw was found in ghostscript, versions 9.x before 9.50, in the setsystemparams procedure 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.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artifex Software | ghostscript | ghostscript versions 9.x before 9.28 | — |
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 | 9.28~~rc2~dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | ghostscript | 9.28~~rc2~dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | ghostscript | 9.28~~rc2~dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 10 | ghostscript | 9.27~dfsg-2+deb10u2 | DSA-4518-1 |
| Debian 9 | ghostscript | 9.26a~dfsg-0+deb9u5 | DSA-4518-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 8 | ghostscript | 9.26a~dfsg-0+deb8u5 | DLA-1915-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | ghostscript | 9.26~dfsg+0-0ubuntu0.18.04.11 | USN-4111-1 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | ghostscript | 9.26~dfsg+0-0ubuntu0.16.04.11 | USN-4111-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | libgs +7 | 9.25-2.el8_0.3 | RHSA-2019:2591 |
| RHEL 7 | libgs +5 | 9.25-2.el7_7.2 | RHSA-2019:2586 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP1 | ghostscript | 9.27-3.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2460-1 |
| SLES 15 | ghostscript | 9.27-3.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2460-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES 12 SP4 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES 12 SP3 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
Show 13 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP2 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES 12 SP1 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP4 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SUSE HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 5 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 4 | ghostscript | 9.27-23.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.1 | ghostscript +1 | 9.27-lp151.3.6.1 | openSUSE-SU-2019:2223-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.0 | ghostscript +1 | 9.27-lp150.2.23.1 | openSUSE-SU-2019:2222-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
Show 13 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | ghostscript | 9.27-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | ghostscript | 9.26-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.8 | ghostscript | 9.26-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.7 | ghostscript | 9.26-r4 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2 | libgs +5 | 9.25-5.amzn2 | ALAS2-2021-1598 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 8 | libgs +7 | 9.25-2.el8_0.3 | ELSA-2019-2591 |
| Oracle Linux 7 | libgs +5 | 9.25-2.el7_7.2 | ELSA-2019-2586 |
Advisories 12
- RHSA-2019:2591 Red Hat Security Advisory: ghostscript security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 5, 2026
- RHSA-2019:2586 Red Hat Security Advisory: ghostscript security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 5, 2026
- USN-4111-1 ghostscript vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
- DSA-4518-1 ghostscript - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-1915-1 ghostscript - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2223-1 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2222-1 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2019:2460-1 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2019:2478-1 Security update for ghostscript SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ALAS2-2021-1598 Important: ghostscript security update (Amazon Linux 2) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Feb 19, 2021
- ELSA-2019-2591 Important: ghostscript security update (Oracle Linux 8) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Sep 6, 2019
- ELSA-2019-2586 Important: ghostscript security update (Oracle Linux 7) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Sep 2, 2019
References
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-14813
- http://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=885444fcbe10dc42787ecb76686c8ee4dd33bf33
- DSA-4518 vendor-advisory
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190909 [SECURITY] [DLA 1915-1] ghostscript security update mailing-list
- 20190910 [SECURITY] [DSA 4518-1] ghostscript security update mailing-list
- RHSA-2019:2594 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2019-0a9d525d71 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2019-953fc0f16d vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2019-ebd6c4f15a vendor-advisory
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2222 vendor-advisory
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2223 vendor-advisory
- RHBA-2019:2824 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-202004-03 vendor-advisory