Artifex Ghostscript up to 9.23 PDF14 Converter use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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5.5$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as problematic has been identified in Artifex Ghostscript up to 9.23. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component PDF14 Converter. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2018-16540. Local access is required to approach this attack. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Artifex Ghostscript up to 9.23 (Document Processing Software). It has been rated as problematic. Affected by this issue is an unknown code block of the component PDF14 Converter. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:

In Artifex Ghostscript before 9.24, attackers able to supply crafted PostScript files to the builtin PDF14 converter could use a use-after-free in copydevice handling to crash the interpreter or possibly have unspecified other impact.

The bug was discovered 08/24/2018. The weakness was disclosed 09/05/2018 (Website). The advisory is shared for download at git.ghostscript.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2018-16540 since 09/05/2018. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 12 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 117487 (Debian DLA-1504-1 : ghostscript security update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Debian Local Security Checks and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 171670 (SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for ghostscript-library (SUSE-SU-2018:3330-1)).

Upgrading to version 9.24 eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published 2 weeks after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (117487) and SecurityFocus (BID 105178†). The entries VDB-104535, VDB-116568, VDB-118612 and VDB-123287 are pretty similar. VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.5

VulDB Base Score: 3.3
VulDB Temp Score: 3.2
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 117487
Nessus Name: Debian DLA-1504-1 : ghostscript security update
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Ghostscript 9.24
Patch: c432131c3fdb2143e148e8ba88555f7f7a63b25e

Timelineinfo

08/24/2018 🔍
08/28/2018 +4 days 🔍
09/05/2018 +7 days 🔍
09/05/2018 +0 days 🔍
09/05/2018 +0 days 🔍
09/06/2018 +1 days 🔍
09/13/2018 +7 days 🔍
09/14/2018 +1 days 🔍
05/07/2023 +1696 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: artifex.com

Advisory: RHSA-2019:0229
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2018-16540 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2018-16540
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-123632

OVAL: 🔍

SecurityFocus: 105178 - Ghostscript 'shading_param' Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 09/06/2018 14:13
Updated: 05/07/2023 10:00
Changes: 09/06/2018 14:13 (77), 03/20/2020 21:17 (4), 05/07/2023 10:00 (6)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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