UNKNOWN READ Vulnerability in ghostscript

ghostscript Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

19/12/2021

Disclosed on

MEDIUM

Severity

Yes i

Fix available

Medium

Severity

Not published

CVSS Score

OSV-2021-1717: UNKNOWN READ in pdfi_read_cff_font. Affects ghostscript versions >= 75fbddf52051987287e62d13c659eb73ba16982f, < b0e070917438341e342000928ff35aacba0d95fa. Fixed in b0e070917438341e342000928ff35aacba0d95fa. 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. This vulnerability affects the ghostscript package and can lead to an UNKNOWN READ crash when processing certain PDF files.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability originates in the pdfi_read_cff_font function of ghostscript. It can be triggered when loading a font dictionary, potentially allowing an attacker to read uninitialized or out-of-bounds memory. This could lead to information disclosure or remote code execution. The vulnerability has a medium severity rating.

How To Fix

Minimum fixed version

b0e070917438341e342000928ff35aacba0d95fa

This is the first release that contains the fix.

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Workaround

No specific workaround has been provided for this vulnerability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the UNKNOWN READ vulnerability in ghostscript can potentially lead to information disclosure or remote code execution. It is recommended to update the ghostscript package to a fixed version. For further support on vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.

See every vulnerability recorded for ghostscript →