CVE-2020-36773
Artifex Ghostscript before 9.53.0 has an out-of-bounds write and use-after-free in devices/vector/gdevtxtw.c (for txtwrite) because a single character code in a PDF document can map to more than one
02 Description
Artifex Ghostscript before 9.53.0 has an out-of-bounds write and use-after-free in devices/vector/gdevtxtw.c (for txtwrite) because a single character code in a PDF document can map to more than one
03 Exploitation and scoring
- Exploitation
- Assessed, none found. CISA's assessment recorded neither public exploit code nor evidence of exploitation when it was made.
- SSVC decision
- ExploitationnoneCISA recorded no public exploit code and no evidence of exploitation.
- AutomatablenoAt least one step from reconnaissance to exploitation cannot be reliably automated.
- Technical ImpactpartialSuccessful exploitation gives limited control of the vulnerable component.
- EPSS probability
- 0.87% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
- EPSS percentile
- Equal to or higher than the score of 58.6% of scored records. A rank, not a probability.
- NVD base score
- 9.8 (CVSS v3.x), scored by the NVD independently of the CNA.
- NVD CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- NVD analysis status
- Modified. NVD last modified this record on 2026-06-17.
- Red Hat severity
- Important. Red Hat's rating for its own products, not a CVSS rating.
Exploit-prediction scores from FIRST. Independent scoring and analysis status from the NVD. Vendor severity from Red Hat. Exploitation assessment and catalog membership from CISA.
04 Metadata
- Published
- 2024-02-04 00:00Z2 YR AGO
- Last updated
- 2025-05-22 17:29Z1 YR AGO
- Reserved
- 2024-02-04
- Assigning CNA
- mitre
- Record state
- PUBLISHED
- Severity
- Critical (CVSS 9.8)
- CNA CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weaknesses
- Data version
- 5.1
- Document digest
- 8d8b0691a6542ff01f54add80647765e748b7ee6a1c46f130ad3955dd0b03fda
05 Affected products
06 References
- bugs.ghostscript.comhttps://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=702229
- git.ghostscript.comhttps://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=8c7bd787defa071c96289b7da9397f673fddb874
- bugzilla.opensuse.orghttps://bugzilla.opensuse.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1177922
- github.comhttps://github.com/ArtifexSoftware/ghostpdl-downloads/releases/tag/gs9530
07 Fixed in
Debian 12
- ghostscript Fixed in 9.53.0~dfsg-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 13
- ghostscript Fixed in 9.53.0~dfsg-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 14
- ghostscript Fixed in 9.53.0~dfsg-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
A release or ecosystem missing from this list has no record here. It may be unaffected or not covered by the source. Source notices and licences.