CVE-2023-28879
CVE-2023-28879 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-787.
Key facts
- Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 6% (93rd percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-787
- Affected product: Artifex Ghostscript
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
In Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.0, there is a buffer overflow leading to potential corruption of data internal to the PostScript interpreter, in base/sbcp.c. This affects BCPEncode, BCPDecode, TBCPEncode, and TBCPDecode. If the write buffer is filled to one byte less than full, and one then tries to write an escaped character, two bytes are written.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2023-28879?
- In Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.0, there is a buffer overflow leading to potential corruption of data internal to the PostScript interpreter, in base/sbcp.c. This affects BCPEncode, BCPDecode, TBCPEncode, and TBCPDecode. If the write buffer is filled to one byte less than full, and one then tries to write an escaped character, two bytes are written.
- How severe is CVE-2023-28879?
- CVE-2023-28879 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-2023-28879 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 6% (93rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2023-28879?
- CVE-2023-28879 primarily affects Artifex Ghostscript. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-28879?
- 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.
- When was CVE-2023-28879 published?
- CVE-2023-28879 was published on 2023-03-31 and last updated on 2026-06-17.
References
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/04/12/4
- https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=706494
- https://ghostscript.readthedocs.io/en/latest/News.html
- https://git.ghostscript.com/?p=ghostpdl.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=37ed5022cecd584de868933b5b60da2e995b3179
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/04/msg00003.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/CI6UCKM3XMK7PYNIRGAVDJ5VKN6XYZOE/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DHJX62KSRIOBZA6FKONMJP7MEFY7LTH2/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MADLP3GWJFLLFVNZGEDNPMDQR6CCXAHN/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202309-03
- https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5383
Affected products (3)
- cpe:2.3:a:artifex:ghostscript:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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