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Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Jun 25, 2023· Updated Dec 5, 2024

CVE-2023-36664

CVE-2023-36664

Description

Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.2 mishandles permission validation for pipe devices, allowing arbitrary command execution via crafted PostScript or PDF files.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.2 mishandles permission validation for pipe devices, allowing arbitrary command execution via crafted PostScript or PDF files.

Vulnerability

In Artifex Ghostscript versions through 10.01.2, the permission validation for pipe devices (using the %pipe% prefix or the | pipe character prefix) is mishandled. This enables a specially crafted PostScript or PDF file to bypass intended restrictions and execute arbitrary system commands. The issue is rooted in inadequate checking when the output device is set to a pipe, as described in the official CVE description [1].

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by providing a malicious PostScript or PDF file to a victim or a service that processes such files with Ghostscript. No authentication or special network position is required beyond the ability to supply the crafted file. The file uses the %pipe% or | prefix to specify a command as the output device, which Ghostscript then executes without proper permission checks. User interaction is necessary (e.g., opening the file) for the exploit to succeed [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation leads to arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the Ghostscript process. This can result in full compromise of the affected system, including data exfiltration, installation of malware, or further lateral movement within the network. The vulnerability is classified as critical with a high CVSS score, and it has been exploited in the wild [4].

Mitigation

Artifex released version 10.01.2 which includes a fix for this issue. Users should upgrade to Ghostscript 10.01.2 or later immediately. For Gentoo Linux, the fixed version is >=app-text/ghostscript-gpl-10.01.2 [4]. Red Hat and other distributions have also backported patches to earlier versions. No workaround is available; upgrading is the only reliable mitigation [4].

References
  1. Making sure you're not a bot!
  2. Multiple Vulnerabilities (GLSA 202309-03) — Gentoo security

AI Insight generated on May 25, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

47

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

No source-code context for this CVE — mechanics is only generated when we can read the actual fix diff. Without that, the four sections (root cause, attack vector, affected code, fix) would be speculation rather than analysis.

References

7

News mentions

0

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