UNKNOWN READ Vulnerability in ghostscript

ghostscript Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

19/05/2022

Disclosed on

MEDIUM

Severity

Yes i

Fix available

Medium

Severity

Not published

CVSS Score

OSV-2022-415: UNKNOWN READ in pdfi_free_object. Affects ghostscript versions >= f89a938877ccaee51b3143b916f66b5ec9c8f0b5, < 7ab96e83d85165801894e887816db6042ea2f9be. Fixed in 7ab96e83d85165801894e887816db6042ea2f9be. 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 manipulating PDF documents. The vulnerability identified in Ghostscript allows for an UNKNOWN READ operation, which can lead to a crash. This vulnerability has been reported through the OSS-Fuzz project.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability occurs in the pdfi_free_object function of Ghostscript. When triggered, it results in an UNKNOWN READ operation, causing the program to crash. The specific crash state includes calls to pdfi_clear_context and pdfi_free_context. The impact of this vulnerability can vary depending on the context in which Ghostscript is used. It may lead to denial of service or potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

How To Fix

Minimum fixed version

7ab96e83d85165801894e887816db6042ea2f9be

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 lead to crashes and potentially allow for arbitrary code execution. It is recommended to update to the latest version of Ghostscript to mitigate this vulnerability. For further support on vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.

See every vulnerability recorded for ghostscript →