How severe is CVE-2020-36773?

CVE-2020-36773 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-36773 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (55th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-36773?

CVE-2020-36773 primarily affects Artifex Ghostscript. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-36773?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2020-36773 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2020-36773 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2020-24214.

When was CVE-2020-36773 published?

CVE-2020-36773 was published on 2024-02-04 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-36773

CVE-2020-36773 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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-416.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (55th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2020-24214
Weakness: CWE-416
Affected product: Artifex Ghostscript
Published: 2024-02-04
Last modified: 2026-06-17

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 Unicode code point (e.g., for a ligature).

Frequently asked questions

What is 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 Unicode code point (e.g., for a ligature).
How severe is CVE-2020-36773?: CVE-2020-36773 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-36773 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (55th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-36773?: CVE-2020-36773 primarily affects Artifex Ghostscript. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-36773?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2020-36773 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2020-36773 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2020-24214.
When was CVE-2020-36773 published?: CVE-2020-36773 was published on 2024-02-04 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (5)

cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript:9.51:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript:9.52:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript:9.52.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript:9.53.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript:9.53.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*

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CVE-2024-43102 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Concurrent removals of certain anonymous shared memory mappings by using the UMTX_SHM_DESTROY sub-request of…
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