Artifex Ghostscript up to 9.23 PostScript File use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
4.3$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Artifex Ghostscript up to 9.23. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component PostScript File Handler. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability was named CVE-2018-16541. The attack needs to be approached locally. There is no available exploit. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Artifex Ghostscript up to 9.23 (Document Processing Software). This affects some unknown processing of the component PostScript File Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In Artifex Ghostscript before 9.24, attackers able to supply crafted PostScript files could use incorrect free logic in pagedevice replacement to crash the interpreter.

The bug was discovered 08/24/2018. The weakness was presented 09/05/2018 (Website). The advisory is shared at git.ghostscript.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2018-16541 since 09/05/2018. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Neither technical details nor an exploit are 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†). See VDB-104535, VDB-116568, VDB-118612 and VDB-123287 for similar entries. Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.3

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

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

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: 🔍

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

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: 241d91112771a6104de10b3948c3f350d6690c1d

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-2018:3834
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2018-16541 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2018-16541
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-123633

OVAL: 🔍

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

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 09/06/2018 14:13
Updated: 05/07/2023 10:02
Changes: 09/06/2018 14:13 (77), 03/20/2020 21:24 (4), 05/07/2023 10:02 (6)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

◂ PreviousOverviewNext ▸

Interested in the pricing of exploits?

See the underground prices here!