Ghostscript up to 9.26 forceput Operator DefineResource access control

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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6.0$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Ghostscript up to 9.26. It has been declared as critical. Affected is the function DefineResource of the component forceput Operator Handler. Executing a manipulation can lead to access control. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2019-3838. The attack requires local access. There is no available exploit. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Ghostscript up to 9.26 (Document Processing Software). It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects the function DefineResource of the component forceput Operator Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a access control vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-284. The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

It was found that the forceput operator could be extracted from the DefineResource method in ghostscript before 9.27. A specially crafted PostScript file could use this flaw in order to, for example, have access to the file system outside of the constrains imposed by -dSAFER.

The bug was discovered 03/21/2019. The weakness was presented 03/25/2019 by Cedric Buissart with Red Hat as confirmed bug report (Bugzilla). The advisory is shared for download at bugzilla.redhat.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2019-3838 since 01/03/2019. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1068.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 4 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 240001 (TencentOS Server 3: ghostscript (TSSA-2022:0123)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 157941 (Oracle Enterprise Linux Security Update for ghostscript (ELSA-2019-0633)).

Upgrading to version 9.27 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (240001) and SecurityFocus (BID 107855†). See VDB-132207 for similar entry. VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

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Name

Version

License

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.0

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.1
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 7.3
CNA Vector (Red Hat, Inc.): 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Access control
CWE: CWE-284 / CWE-266
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: 240001
Nessus Name: TencentOS Server 3: ghostscript (TSSA-2022:0123)

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Ghostscript 9.27

Timelineinfo

01/03/2019 🔍
03/21/2019 +77 days 🔍
03/21/2019 +0 days 🔍
03/25/2019 +4 days 🔍
03/26/2019 +1 days 🔍
06/17/2025 +2275 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Advisory: RHSA-2019:0652
Researcher: Cedric Buissart
Organization: Red Hat
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2019-3838 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2019-3838
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-132208
SecurityFocus: 107855 - Ghostscript CVE-2019-3835 Security Bypass Vulnerability

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 03/26/2019 13:57
Updated: 06/17/2025 16:23
Changes: 03/26/2019 13:57 (64), 05/19/2020 21:11 (6), 08/07/2023 09:48 (4), 08/07/2023 09:53 (12), 06/17/2025 16:23 (16)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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