How severe is CVE-2016-9601?

CVE-2016-9601 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability low.

Is CVE-2016-9601 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (77th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-9601?

CVE-2016-9601 primarily affects Artifex Gpl Ghostscript. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-9601?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2016-9601 published?

CVE-2016-9601 was published on 2018-04-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-9601

CVE-2016-9601 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Artifex Gpl Ghostscript with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.3)
CVSS v2: 4.3
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (77th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-119
Affected product: Artifex Gpl Ghostscript
Published: 2018-04-24
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

ghostscript before version 9.21 is vulnerable to a heap based buffer overflow that was found in the ghostscript jbig2_decode_gray_scale_image function which is used to decode halftone segments in a JBIG2 image. A document (PostScript or PDF) with an embedded, specially crafted, jbig2 image could trigger a segmentation fault in ghostscript.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-9601?: ghostscript before version 9.21 is vulnerable to a heap based buffer overflow that was found in the ghostscript jbig2_decode_gray_scale_image function which is used to decode halftone segments in a JBIG2 image. A document (PostScript or PDF) with an embedded, specially crafted, jbig2 image could trigger a segmentation fault in ghostscript.
How severe is CVE-2016-9601?: CVE-2016-9601 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability low.
Is CVE-2016-9601 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (77th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-9601?: CVE-2016-9601 primarily affects Artifex Gpl Ghostscript. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-9601?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2016-9601 published?: CVE-2016-9601 was published on 2018-04-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (4)

cpe:2.3:a:artifex:gpl_ghostscript:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:artifex:jbig2dec:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Artifex Gpl Ghostscript

CVE-2012-4875 — Critical (CVSS 9.3): Heap-based buffer overflow in gdevwpr2.c in Ghostscript 9.04, when processing the OutputFile device parameter, allows…
CVE-2009-3743 — Critical (CVSS 9.3): Off-by-one error in the Ins_MINDEX function in the TrueType bytecode interpreter in Ghostscript before 8.71 allows…
CVE-2009-4897 — Critical (CVSS 9.3): Buffer overflow in gs/psi/iscan.c in Ghostscript 8.64 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or…
CVE-2010-1628 — Critical (CVSS 9.3): Ghostscript 8.64, 8.70, and possibly other versions allows context-dependent attackers to execute arbitrary code via a…
CVE-2010-1869 — Critical (CVSS 9.3): Stack-based buffer overflow in the parser function in GhostScript 8.70 and 8.64 allows context-dependent attackers to…
CVE-2018-18284 — High (CVSS 8.6): Artifex Ghostscript 9.25 and earlier allows attackers to bypass a sandbox protection mechanism via vectors involving…

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