Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in GhostScript v9.50

ghostscript Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

13/08/2020

Disclosed on

N/A

Severity

Yes i

Fix available

Medium

Severity

5.5

CVSS Score

CVE-2020-16300: A buffer overflow vulnerability in tiff12_print_page() in devices/gdevtfnx.c of Artifex Software GhostScript v9.50 allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via a crafted PDF file. Affects ghostscript versions < 9.51-r0. Fixed in 9.51-r0. How to fix ↓

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Background

GhostScript is an open-source interpreter for the PostScript language and the PDF file format. It is widely used for rendering and converting PDF files. The vulnerability affects GhostScript version 9.50 and allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service by exploiting a buffer overflow in the tiff12_print_page() function in devices/gdevtfnx.c. This can be achieved by sending a crafted PDF file to the vulnerable system.

Vulnerability Detail

The buffer overflow vulnerability in GhostScript v9.50, identified as CVE-2020-16300, can be exploited by a remote attacker to trigger a denial of service condition. By sending a specially crafted PDF file, the attacker can overflow a buffer in the tiff12_print_page() function, leading to the crash of the GhostScript process. This vulnerability has a CVSSv3 score of 5.5, indicating a moderate severity level.

How To Fix

Minimum fixed version

9.51-r0

This is the first release that contains the fix.

sudo apk add --upgrade ghostscript

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Workaround

There is no known workaround for this vulnerability. It is essential to update GhostScript to the fixed version to mitigate the risk.

Conclusion

The buffer overflow vulnerability in GhostScript v9.50 can be exploited by a remote attacker to cause a denial of service. To mitigate the risk, it is recommended to update GhostScript to version 9.51 or later. For further assistance with vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.

See every vulnerability recorded for ghostscript →