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CVE-2016-7978

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute...

9.8 CriticalFix available

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

5.53%Down 1.2 points since Feb 4, 2022
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

NVD Score used 9.8

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Record
CVE-2016-7978
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.0
7.5 HighAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Weakness
CWE-416
Updated
2026-11-02
CVE List No score

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Record
CVE-2016-7978
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2016-8826 No score

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Record
EUVD-2016-8826
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-jp8p-fj2v-5982 9.8

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute...

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Record
GHSA-jp8p-fj2v-5982
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-416
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 9.8

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Record
CVE-2016-7978
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2016-7978 9.8

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2016-7978
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 6 moreShow less
OSVRHSA-2017:0013 6.2

Red Hat Security Advisory: ghostscript security update

Record
RHSA-2017:0013
CVSS 3.0
6.2 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2016-7978 9.8

Use-after-free vulnerability in Ghostscript 9.20 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to a reference leak in .setdevice.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2016-7978
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2017-0133 No score

Updated ghostscript packages fix security vulnerability

Various userparams in Ghostscript allow %pipe% in paths, allowing remote shell command execution (CVE-2016-7976).

The .libfile function in Ghostscript doesn't check PermitFileReading array, allowing remote file disclosure (CVE-2016-7977).

Reference leak in the .setdevice function in Ghostscript allows use-after-free and remote code execution (CVE-2016-7978).

Type confusion in the .initialize_dsc_parser function in Ghostscript allows remote code execution (CVE-2016-7979).

The .sethalftone5 function in psi/zht2.c in Ghostscript before 9.21 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted Postscript document that calls .sethalftone5 with an empty operand stack (CVE-2016-8602).

A heap based buffer overflow was found in the ghostscript jbig2_decode_gray_scale_image() function 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 (CVE-2016-9601).

The pdf14_open function in base/gdevp14.c in Ghostscript 9.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (use-after-free and application crash) via a crafted file that is mishandled in the color management module (CVE-2016-10217).

The pdf14_pop_transparency_group function in base/gdevp14.c in the PDF Transparency module in Ghostscript 9.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a crafted file (CVE-2016-10218).

The intersect function in base/gxfill.c in Ghostscript 9.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (divide-by-zero error and application crash) via a crafted file (CVE-2016-10219).

The gs_makewordimagedevice function in base/gsdevmem.c in Ghostscript 9.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a crafted file that is mishandled in the PDF Transparency module (CVE-2016-10220).

The mem_get_bits_rectangle function in base/gdevmem.c in Ghostscript 9.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a crafted file (CVE-2017-5951).

The mem_get_bits_rectangle function in Ghostscript 9.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via a crafted PostScript document (CVE-2017-7207).

Ghostscript through 2017-04-26 allows -dSAFER bypass and remote command execution via .rsdparams type confusion with a "/OutputFile (%pipe%" substring in a crafted .eps document that is an input to the gs program (CVE-2017-8291).

Record
MGASA-2017-0133
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10003-1 No score

ghostscript-9.20-2.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the ghostscript-9.20-2.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10003-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2016:2492-1 No score

Security update for ghostscript-library

This update for ghostscript-library fixes the following issues:

  • Multiple security vulnerabilities have been discovered where ghostscript's '-dsafer' flag did not provide sufficient protection against unintended access to the file system. Thus, a machine that would process a specially crafted Postscript file would potentially leak sensitive information to an attacker. (CVE-2013-5653, bsc#1001951)

  • An incorrect reference count was found in .setdevice. This issue lead to a use-after-free scenario, which could have been exploited for denial-of-service or, possibly, arbitrary code execution attacks. (CVE-2016-7978, bsc#1001951)

  • Insufficient validation of the type of input in .initialize_dsc_parser used to allow remote code execution. (CVE-2016-7979, bsc#1001951)

Record
SUSE-SU-2016:2492-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3148-1 No score

ghostscript vulnerabilities

Tavis Ormandy discovered multiple vulnerabilities in the way that Ghostscript processes certain Postscript files. If a user or automated system were tricked into opening a specially crafted file, an attacker could cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2016-7976, CVE-2016-7978, CVE-2016-7979, CVE-2016-8602)

Multiple vulnerabilities were discovered in Ghostscript related to information disclosure. If a user or automated system were tricked into opening a specially crafted file, an attacker could expose sensitive data. (CVE-2013-5653, CVE-2016-7977)

Record
USN-3148-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
ghostscript
Debian:12
before 9.19~dfsg-3.1
9.19~dfsg-3.1
ghostscript
Debian:13
before 9.19~dfsg-3.1
9.19~dfsg-3.1
ghostscript
Debian:14
before 9.19~dfsg-3.1
9.19~dfsg-3.1
ghostscript
Debian:7
before 9.05~dfsg-6.3+deb7u3, plus listed versions
9.05~dfsg-6.39.05~dfsg-6.3+deb7u19.05~dfsg-6.3+deb7u2
9.05~dfsg-6.3+deb7u3
ghostscript
Debian:8
before 9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u3, plus listed versions
9.06~dfsg-29.06~dfsg-2+deb8u19.06~dfsg-2+deb8u2
9.06~dfsg-2+deb8u3
ghostscript
Mageia:5
before 9.20-1.mga5
9.20-1.mga5
gutenprint
Mageia:5
before 5.2.10-5.1.mga5
5.2.10-5.1.mga5
libspectre
Mageia:5
before 0.2.7-5.1.mga5
0.2.7-5.1.mga5
ghostscript
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-cups
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
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Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
ghostscript-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-doc
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-gtk
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-cups
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-doc
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-gtk
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-cups
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-doc
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-gtk
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-cups
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-doc
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript-gtk
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
0:9.07-20.el7_3.1
ghostscript
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1
before 9.15-11.1
9.15-11.1
ghostscript
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12
before 9.15-11.1
9.15-11.1
ghostscript
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP1
before 9.15-11.1
9.15-11.1
ghostscript
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS
before 9.15-11.1
9.15-11.1
ghostscript
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1
before 9.15-11.1
9.15-11.1
ghostscript
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1
before 9.15-11.1
9.15-11.1
ghostscript
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS
before 9.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.5, plus listed versions
9.10~dfsg-0ubuntu29.10~dfsg-0ubuntu39.10~dfsg-0ubuntu49.10~dfsg-0ubuntu59.10~dfsg-0ubuntu6
Show 8 moreShow less
9.10~dfsg-0ubuntu79.10~dfsg-0ubuntu89.10~dfsg-0ubuntu99.10~dfsg-0ubuntu109.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.19.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.29.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.39.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.4
9.10~dfsg-0ubuntu10.5
ghostscript
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
before 9.18~dfsg~0-0ubuntu2.2, plus listed versions
9.16~dfsg~0-0ubuntu39.16~dfsg~0-0ubuntu49.18~dfsg~0-0ubuntu19.18~dfsg~0-0ubuntu2
9.18~dfsg~0-0ubuntu2.2
ghostscript
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
before 9.20-2.1
9.20-2.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2016-7978 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Artifex Ghostscript, published October 6, 2016. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 5.53%, the 92nd percentile. Fixed in ghostscript 9.19~dfsg-3.1.

References

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